Claimant’s appeal against judgment in action for trespass and nuisance, arising out of the construction by the defendants of a pair of semi-detached houses on land adjoining the Hotel Picardie at Ventnor on the Isle of Wight, which was owned by the claimant. Trespass and infringement of right to light. Rejection of action for share of profits.
Patten J held that the case of Wass ‘limited’ the possibility of an award of damages on a restitutionary basis and: ‘An actionable nuisance does not involve the misappropriation of the claimant’s rights in the same way, even as in a case of trespass, let alone as in a case of conversion or copyright or trademark infringement. The essence of the tort is that the claimant’s rights to the reasonable enjoyment of her property have been infringed by the use which the defendant makes of his own land. On the face of it, this should not entitle the claimant, in my judgment, to more than compensation for the loss which she has actually suffered; but the highest that it could be put on the authorities is that the claimant can, in appropriate cases, obtain an award calculated by reference to the price, which the defendant might reasonably be required to pay for a relaxation of the claimant’s rights so as to avoid an injunction. This, as already explained, falls a long way short of being awarded the whole profit for the development, which is far in excess and completely unrelated to the measure of loss suffered by the claimant.
Mr Ley referred us to a passage in Lord Keith’s speech in A-G v Guardian Newspapers Ltd [1990] 1 AC 109, [1988] 3 WLR 776, but that was also an action for breach of confidence where equity has always asserted a jurisdiction to order an account of profits; it is not authority for the making of such an order in a case of nuisance. It seems to me that the judge would have been entitled to reject the claim for an account of profits outright, simply on the basis that it was not an available remedy in an action for nuisance; but even if that is wrong, his acceptance that one needs to show exceptional circumstances is not, in my judgment, open to criticism.’
Patten J, Mummery, Toulson LJJ
[2008] EWCA Civ 505, [2008] Env LR 41
Bailii
England and Wales
Citing:
Applied – Stoke-on-Trent City Council v W and J Wass Ltd CA 1988
The council had operated open markets on its land under statutory authority. In breach of the statute, the defendant operated a market on a different day, but within the excluded area. This was a nuisance actionable on proof of damage. The council . .
Cited by:
Cited – Devenish Nutrition Ltd v Sanofi-Aventis Sa (France) and others CA 14-Oct-2008
The defendant had been involved in price fixing arrangements, and the claimant sought damages for breach of its proprietary rights. The claimant appealed refusal of an award an account of profits for what was akin to a breach of statutory duty.
Cited – Twentieth Century Fox Film Corp and Others v Harris and Others ChD 5-Feb-2013
The court was asked whether a copyright owner has a proprietary claim to money derived from infringement of the copyright.
Held: He did not. No such argument could be shown to have suceeded before. . .
These lists may be incomplete.
Updated: 17 July 2021; Ref: scu.267901