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These cases are from the lawindexpro database. They are now being transferred to the swarb.co.uk website in a better form. As a case is published there, an entry here will link to it. The swarb.co.uk site includes many later cases.  














Nuisance - From: 1994 To: 1994

This page lists 10 cases, and was prepared on 02 April 2018.

 
Deakins v Hookings [1994] 1 EGLR 190
1994
CC
Judge Cooke
Land, Nuisance
(County Court) Judge Cooke considered a claim for an alleged breach of a right of light. The well-lit area in the living room was 51% of the floor area before the development, reduced to 41% afterwards. Held: There had been an actionable interference with the plaintiff's right to light. Referring to Ough v King, he said that the decision "really means not so much that one disregards the 50/50 rule, but that it is a bare minimum" and "It seems to me that having regard to the authorities I ought to approach the problem on these bases: (i) In a room that is already ill-lit every bit of light is precious. (ii) Save in an extreme case it would be difficult to say that once a living room (contrast a store) fell below 50/50 that the light left was adequate. (iii) In considering whether a room where more than 50% remained well-lit regard should be had to the use to be made of the remainder and how bad, vis a vis that use, the remaining light was. (iv) The test is not merely a statistical one: test (ii) provides a pretty irreductible minimum."
1 Cites

1 Citers


 
Burnie Port Authority v General Jones Property Ltd [1994] 120 ALR 42; (1994) 179 CLR 520
1994
HCA
Mason CJ
Commonwealth, Nuisance, Negligence
(High Court of Australia) The court treated the rule in Rylands v Fletcher as absorbed by the principles of ordinary negligence. The majority were influenced by the difficulties of interpretation and application to which the rule had given rise, the progressive weakening of the rule by judicial decision, by recognition that the law of negligence had been very greatly developed and expanded since Rylands v Fletcher was decided and by a belief that most claimants entitled to succeed under the rule would succeed in a claim for negligence anyway: "Where a duty of care arises under the ordinary law of negligence, the standard of care exacted is that which is reasonable in the circumstances. It has been emphasised in many cases that the degree of care under that standard necessarily varies with the risk involved and that the risk involved includes both the magnitude of the risk of an accident happening and the seriousness of the potential damage if an accident should occur … even where a dangerous substance or dangerous activity of a kind which might attract the rule in Rylands v Fletcher is involved, the standard of care remains "that which is reasonable in the circumstances, that which a reasonably prudent man would exercise in the circumstances": Adelaide Chemical & Fertiliser Co Ltd v Carlyle [1940] 64CLR514 at page 523. In the case of such substances or activities, however, a reasonably prudent person would exercise a higher degree of care. Indeed, depending upon the magnitude of the danger, the standard of 'reasonable care' may involve 'a degree of diligence so stringent as to amount practically to a guarantee of safety'"
1 Cites

1 Citers


 
Myatt v Teignbridge District Council [1994] Env LR 78
1994

Butler-Sloss LJ and MacPherson J
Nuisance
In a noise nuisance abatement case, the court held that for an Abatement Notice to be sufficient there are two steps: "one is you need to know what you have done wrong and, secondly, what it is you are to do to put it right." The case here was of keeping barking dogs, and no steps needed to be specified as to how it should be abated.
1 Citers


 
East Northamptonshire District Council v Brian Fossett [1994] Env LR 388
1994


Nuisance
The case involved an allegation of noise, a nuisance at an all night rave. No works were required to abate the nuisance and whether the 1990 Act had created any fundamental change in the law, as the Council claims, was not raised.
Environmental Protection Act 1990
1 Citers


 
Network Housing Association Ltd v Westminster City Council Times, 08 November 1994; Ind Summary, 07 November 1994; [1995] Env LR 176; [1995] 27 HLR 189
7 Nov 1994
QBD

Environment, Nuisance, Housing
An abatement notice was addressed by the respondent city council to freehold owners of tenanted premises, in respect of a noise source which it was out of their power to stop. This was noise from perfectly normal everyday living, which reached one flat from the flat above due to the absence (under ceiling, on floor or in the ceiling/underfloor void) of proper insulation. The only way in which the housing association could therefore abate the nuisance was by installing proper sound insulation. Nothing effective was said about how the noise could be abated, because the experts differed. Held: A nuisance or noise abatement notice had to be specific enough to allow the person served to gain knowledge of what work was required of him to be carried out to secure compliance.
Environmental Protection Act 1990
1 Citers


 
Botross v Hammersmith and Fulham London Borough Council Times, 07 November 1994; (1994) 16 Cr App R (S) 622
7 Nov 1994
QBD

Environment, Nuisance
Statutory nuisance proceedings are in their nature criminal proceedings, and compensation may be awarded by the court.
Environmental Protection Act 1990 82(1)
1 Cites

1 Citers



 
 Wheeler and Another v JJ Saunders Ltd and Others; CA 19-Dec-1994 - Times, 03 January 1995; [1996] Ch 19; [1994] EWCA Civ 8; [1994] EWCA Civ 32; [1995] 3 WLR 466; [1995] 2 All ER 697

 
 Wheeler and Another v JJ Saunders Ltd and Others; CA 19-Dec-1994 - Times, 03 January 1995; [1996] Ch 19; [1994] EWCA Civ 8; [1994] EWCA Civ 32; [1995] 3 WLR 466; [1995] 2 All ER 697

 
 Hunter and Others v Canary Wharf Ltd; QBD 20-Dec-1994 - Independent, 20 December 1994
 
Regina v Secretary of State for Transport Ex Parte Richmond Upon Thames London Borough Council and Others Independent, 05 January 1995; Times, 29 December 1994; [1995] Env LR 390
29 Dec 1994
QBD

Nuisance
Secretary of State's decision was unlawful where noise levels of aircraft had been increased without consultation with local population.

 
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