Private nuisance

What the law is?

How does it work?

Claimants must have an interest in the land (Hunter V Canary Wharf)

This is shown by owning, rent etc.

Must have a defendant who can be sued for nuisance

Adopt a nuisance (doing nothing while being aware of the nuisance) (Sedleigh Denfield V O’Callaghan)

A nuisance is defined in court as:

An unreasonable use of land

To establish this the courts consider several factors:

Locality (Coventry V Lawrence)

Where the nuisance is happening

Malice (Christie V Davey)

D deliberately causes the nuisance against V

Public benefit (Miller V Jackson)

D’s actions do something that benefits the community at large.

Duration (Kimbolton Fireworks V Crown River cruises)

The longer it is the more likely it is to be a nuisance. However, the intensity also matters.

Sensitivity of the claimant (Network Rail Infrastructure V Morris)

The sensitivity of the claimant does not increase the nuisance - if D uses the land naturally it does not make it a nuisance that the C is sensitive to that.

Remedies:

Abatement

Injunctions

Damages

Abatement - C is given to prevent the nuisance from happening/ put themselves back into the position.

Injunctions - Legal orders to stop doing something.

Damages - a form of money given.

The general rule in nuisance is that injunctions are used, but after Coventry V Lawrence damages can be considered where appropriate