Tinsley v Dudley: CA 1951

The plaintiff sought damages after the motorcycle he had parked in the defendant hotelier’s closed car park was stolen.
Held: An occupier is under no duty to protect goods from the risk of theft by third parties. The publican was not a bailee of the motorcycle in that there had been no transfer of possession to the publican.
Jenkins LJ remarked on the complete absence of any authority suggesting liability for the loss of a vistor’s property. He said that such a principle would produce: ‘a liability of a most comprehensive and sweeping character, and would have entered into a very great number of cases if it existed.’

Judges:

Jenkins LJ

Citations:

[1951] 2 KB 18

Agency, Negligence

Updated: 06 May 2022; Ref: scu.467242