Origins of Strict Liability for Abnormally Dangerous Activities in the United States, Rylands v. Fletcher and a General Clause of Strict Liability in the UK

Authors: Maria Lubomira Kubica

Abstract:

The paper reveals the birth and evolution of the British precedent Rylands v. Fletcher that, once adopted on the other side of the Ocean (in United States), gave rise to a general clause of liability for abnormally dangerous activities recognized by the §20 of the American Restatements of the Law Third, Liability for Physical and Emotional Harm. The main goal of the paper was to analyze the development of the legal doctrine and of the case law posterior to the precedent together with the intent of the British judicature to leapfrog from the traditional rule contained in Rylands v. Fletcher to a general clause similar to that introduced in the United States and recently also on the European level. As it is well known, within the scope of tort law two different initiatives compete with the aim of harmonizing the European laws: European Group on Tort Law with its Principles of European Tort Law (hereinafter PETL) in which article 5:101 sets forth a general clause for strict liability for abnormally dangerous activities and Study Group on European Civil Code with its Common Frame of Reference (CFR) which promotes rather ad hoc model of listing out determined cases of strict liability. Very narrow application scope of the art. 5:101 PETL, restricted only to abnormally dangerous activities, stays in opposition to very broad spectrum of strict liability cases governed by the CFR. The former is a perfect example of a general clause that offers a minimum and basic standard, possibly acceptable also in those countries in which, like in the United Kingdom, this regime of liability is completely marginalized.

Keywords: Dangerous activities, general clause, risk, strict liability.

Digital Object Identifier (DOI): doi.org/10.5281/zenodo.1115328

References:

[1] Restatement (Third) of Torts: Liability for Physical and Emotional Harm (2010).
[2] Lawrence Meir Friedman, A History of American Law, Simon and Schuster, New York, 1973, p. 409-427.
[3] Morton Horwitz, The Transformation of American Law, 1780-1860, Harvard University Press, Cambridge, Massachusetts, 1977, p. 85-108.
[4] Bernard Schwartz, The Law in America, American Heritage Pub. Co, New York, 1974, p. 55-59.
[5] G. Edward White, Tort Law in America: An Intellectual History, Oxford University Press, New York, 1980, p. 3-19.
[6] Richard Epstein, Cases and Materials on Torts, 6ª ed., Aspen Law & Business, New York, 1995, p. 134-136.
[7] Jed Handelsman Shugerman, “The Floodgates of Strict Liability: Bursting reservoirs and the Adoption of Fletcher v. Rylands in the Gilded Age”, Yale L. R. nrº 110, November 2000, p. 333.
[8] Oliver Wendell Holmes, “The Theory of Torts”, Am. L. Rev., nrº. 7, 1873, p. 653.
[9] Edwin Tyrrell Hulston and Francis Joseph Coltman, English Reports, Full Reprint. (1220-1865), vol. 159- Exchequer, p. 737-748.
[10] Kumaralingam Amirthalingam, “Rylands Lives”, CLJ, vol. 63, nrº2, June 2004, p. 273-276.
[11] Roderick Bagshaw, Rylands Confined, LQR, vol.120, July 2004, p. 388-392.
[12] Erskine Blackburn, “The Rule in Rylands v. Fletcher”, Can. Bar. J., nrº. 4, 1961, p. 39-50.
[13] Francis H. Bohlen, “The Rule in Rylands v. Fletcher”, U. Pa. L.Rev. nrº 59, 1911, p. 298-326.
[14] G.H.L. Friedman, “The Rise and Fall of Rylands v. Fletcher”, Can. Bar. Rev. nrº. 34, 1956, p. 810-823.
[15] Robert Thomas Molloy, “Fletcher v. Rylands- A Reexamination of Juristic Origins”, U.Chi.L.Rev. nrº. 9, 1941, p. 266-292,
[16] John Murphy, “The Merits of Rylands v. Fletcher”, Oxf. J. Leg. Stud., vol. 24, nrº 4, 2004, p.643-669.
[17] F. H. Newark, “Non-natural user and Rylands v. Fletcher”, Mod.L.Rev. , vol. 24, 1961, p. 557- 571.
[18] Donal P. Nolan, “The distinctiveness of Rylands v. Fletcher”, LQR, nr° 121, 2005, p. 421-451.
[19] Ken Oliphant, “Rylands v. Fletcher and the Emergence of Enterprise Liability”, in Helmut Koziol/ Barbara Steininger (ed.), Tort and Insurance Law Year Book, European Tort Law 2004, Springer, Wien New York, 2005, p. 81-120.
[20] William Lloyd Prosser, “The Principle of Rylands v. Fletcher”, in William Lloyd Prosser, Selected Topics on the Law of Torts: Five Lectures Delivered at the University of Michigan February 2,3,4,5 y 6 of 1953, Ann Arbor, University of Michigan Law School, 1954, p. 159-177.
[21] A.W. Brian Simpson, “Legal Liability for Bursting Reservoirs: The Historical Context of Rylands v. Fletcher”, J. Legal Stud. Nrº 13, (1984), p. 209- 264.
[22] A.W. Brian Simpson, “Bursting Reservoirs and Rylands and Horrocks v. Fletcher”, in A.W. Brian Simpson, Leading Cases in the Common Law, Clarendon Press, Oxford, 1996 p. 195-226.
[23] William Teulon Swam Stallybrass, “Dangerous Things and the Non-Natural User of Land”, CLJ vol. 3, 1929, p. 376-397.
[24] Andrew J. Waite, “Deconstructing the Rule in Rylands v. Fletcher”, JEL, vol. 18, nrº 3, 2006, p. 423-442.
[25] David W. Williams, “Non –Natural Use of the Land”, CLJ vol. 32, 1973, p. 310-322.
[26] Law Commission No.32, Civil Liability for Dangerous Things and Activities, 1970.
[27] Rylands v. Fletcher, 159 Eng. Rep. 737, 740 (Ex. 1865).
[28] Fletcher v. Rylands (1865) 3 Hurlston & Coltman’s Exchequer Reports (H&C) 774, 159 Eng. Rep. 737.
[29] W. Page Keeton, Dan D. Dobbs, Robert E. Keeton, David G. Owen, Prosser and Keeton on the Law of Torts, 5ª ed., West Publishing Co., St. Paul, Minnesota, 1984, p. 545.
[30] William L. Prosser, Handbook on the Law of Torts, West Publishers Corporation, St. Paul, Minnesota, 1964, p. 480.
[31] John W. Wade in Victor E. Schwartz, Kathryn Kelly, David E. Partlett, Prosser, Wade and Schwartz`s Cases and Materials on Torts, 10ª ed., Foundation Press, New York, 2000, p. 666.
[32] Fletcher v. Rylands, 1 L.R.-Ex.265, 279.
[33] John G. Fleming, The Law of Torts, 9th ed., The Law Book Company Limited, Sydney, p. 376.
[34] F. H. Newark “Boundaries of Nuisance”, LQR, nr. 65, 1949, p.480- 490.
[35] Rylands v. Fletcher (1868) LR 3 HL 330, 338.
[36] Read v. Lyons & Co., Ltd. (1947) A. C. 156 at 187.
[37] Simon Deakin/Angus Johnston/Basil Markesinis, Tort Law, Oxford University Press, Oxford, 2007, p. 614.
[38] Transco plc v. Stockport MBC (2004) 1 All England Law Reports 589, at 596.
[39] Suzanne Galand-Carval, “France” in Bernard A. Koch/ Helmut Koziol (eds), Unification of Tort Law. Strict Liability., Kluwer Law International, The Hague/London/New York, 2002, pp. 127, 130 and 132;
[40] Cees van Dam, European Tort Law, Oxford University Press, New York, 2007, pp. 49-55.
[41] Roscoe Pound, Interpretations of Legal History, Cambridge, Mass., Harvard University Press, 1967, p. 109
[42] Leon Green, “Tort Law Public Law in Disguise”, Texas LR, nrº. 38, 1959, pp. 257-269.
[43] Rickards v Lothian (1913) AC 263.
[44] British Celanese v. Hunt (1969) 1 WLR 959.
[45] Mark Lunney and Ken Oliphant, Tort Law. Texts and Materials, Oxford University Press, New York, 2008, p. 684.
[46] Wolfgang Gaston Friedmann, “Social Insurance and the Principles of Tort Liability”, Harv. L. Rev., nrº. 63, 1949, p. 259.
[47] T. H. Tylor, Restriction of Strict Liability, Mod. L. Rev., vol. 10, nº4, October 1947, p. 402,
[48] Wolfgang Gaston Friedmann, “Social Insurance and the Principles of Tort Liability”, Harv. L. Rev., nr. 63, 1949, p. 241.
[49] Lewis Carroll, Alice in Wonderland, Gardners Books, 2007, p.89-90.
[50] LMS International Ltd v. Styrene Packing and Insulation Ltd (2005) EWHC 2065.
[51] Balfour v. Barty-King (1957) 1 ALL ER 156,
[52] Mason v Levy Auto Parts of England (1967) 2 QB 530,
[53] E Hobbs (Farms) Limited v. The Baxenden Chemical Co Limited (1992)1 L1L Rep 54,
[54] Johnson v B J W Property (2002) 3 ALL ER 574.
[55] Cambridge Water Company v. Eastern Counties plc (1994) 2 WLR 53
[56] Burnie Port Authority v. General Jones Pty Ltd. (1994) 179 CLR 520.
[57] W.H.V. Rogers, Winfield and Jolowicz on Tort, ed. 16ª, Thomson Sweet Maxwell, London, 2002., p. 695, no 15-3.
[58] Colour Quest Ltd and others v Total Downstream UK plc and others (2009) All ER (D) 311 (Mar) at 411.
[59] Tenant v. Goldwin (1794) 2 Ld Raym 1089.
[60] Hunter v Canary Wharf (1997) AC 655.
[61] Overseas Tankship (U.K.) Ltd. V. Miller Steamship Co. Pty. (The Wagon Mound (No.2)) (1967) 1 A.C. 617
[62] David Wilkinson, “Cambridge Water Company v. Eastern Counties plc: Diluting Liability for Continuing Escapes”, Mod.L.Rev. nr 57, 1994, p. 802.
[63] Elspeth Reid, “Liability for dangerous activities: A Comparative Analysis”, ICLQ, nr. 48, 1999, pp.740-741.
[64] Principles of European Tort Law. Text and Commentary. Springer, Wien New York, 2005.
[65] § 520 of the Restatement of the Law, Second, St. Paul, Minn, 1977, vol. 3.
[66] Report of the Law Commission on Civil Liability for Dangerous Things and Activities (1970) (Law Com. No 32) para. 14-16.
[67] W. H. van Boom, “Some Remarks on the Decline of Rylands v. Fletcher”, ZEuP, 2005., p. 633, available also on« http://publishing.eur.nl/ir/repub/asset/8254/transovStockportZEuP2005no3.PDF » (cd: 21.01.2009).
[68] Reinhard Zimmermann, The Law of Obligations. Roman Foundations of the Civilian Tradition, Oxford University Press, New York, 1996, p. 1132-1135.
[69] Milton McIntosh, “Rylands v. Fletcher restated,” Solicitors Journal 12th of December 2003, 1413.
[70] Carrie de Silva, „The Continuing Life of Rylands v. Fletcher: a Comparative Analysis of the Development and Enduring Use of the Rule in Rylands v. Fletcher in England and Wales and the Common Law World.”, RICS ROOTS Rurla Conference, Wadham College, Oxford- April 2006, available on www.rics.org (cd: 23.12.2009),
[71] Ewoud Hondius, “England and European Civil Code”, ERPL vol. 17, Nº 2, 2009, p. 85-87.
[72] Bernhard A. Koch/ Helmut Koziol (eds.), Unification of Tort Law: Strict Liability, Kluwer Law International, The Hague/London/New York, 2002.
[73] Christian von Bar, The Common European Law of Torts, op. cit., vol. II, p. 244-258.
[74] Franz Werro and Vero Valentine Palmer, in The Boundaries of Strict Liability in European Tort Law, Carolina Academic Press, Bruylant SA Bruxelles, Staempfli Publishers Ltd, Durham, Bern, Bruxells, 2004, p. xxxii.
[75] F. D. Busnelli and Giovanni Comandé, “Italy”, in Koch/Koziol, Unification of Tort Law: Strict Liability, Kluwer Law International, The Hague/London/New York, 2002, p. 212-213.
[76] Bernhard Koch and Helmut Koziol, “Austria”, in Unification of Tort Law Strict Liability, op. cit., p. 14.
[77] Van Gerven/Lever/Larouche, Cases, Materials and Texts on National, Supranational and International Tort Law, op. cit., p. 540 and Werro/Palmer, in The Boundaries of Strict Liability in European Tort Law, op. cit., p.403.
[78] OGH 28 Mar. 1973, SZ 46/36 p. 158, 163.
[79] Pierre Widmer, “Switzerland”, PETL Strict Liability, Kluwer Law International, The Hague, London, New York, 2002, p. 347.
[80] http://www.ejpd.admin.ch/etc/medialib/data/wirtschaft/gesetzgebung/ haftpflich.Par.0008.File.tmp/vn-ve-f.pdf (cd: 01.03.2013).
[81] Peter Loser, “Switzerland”, in Helmut Koziol and Barbara Steininger (eds.), European Tort Law 2004, Springer, Wien, New York, 2005, p. 581.
[82] Nicolas J McBride and Roderick Bagshaw, Tort Law,2nd ed., Pearson Education Limited, Essex, 2005, p. 743-746.
[83] Michael G. Faure, (ed.), Deterrence, Insurability, and Compensation in Environmental Liability: Future Developments in the European Union, Springer, Wien, 2003.
[84] Christopher McNall, “Holding Back the Tide of Negligence? Rylands v. Fletcher revisited; Transco PLC v. Stockport MBC (2003) UKHL 61”, Conveyancer and Property Lawyer, 2004, p. 251.
[85] Miles v. Forest Rock Granite (1918) 34 TLR 500 (CA).
[86] Shiffman v. Order of St John (1936) 1 All ER 557.
[87] Hale v. Jennings Bros (1938) 1 All ER 579.
[88] Hunter v. Canary Wharf Ltd (1997) A.C. 655 at 719 per Lord Cooke of Thorndon.
[89] Perry v. Kendricks Transport Ltd (1956) 1 All ER; at 160-161 per Parker LJ.
[90] Human Rights Act 1998, see http://www.opsi.gov.uk/acts/acts1998/ukpga_19980042_en_1 (cd:13.01.2010).
[91] Marcic v. Thames Water Utilities Limited (2002) EWCA Civ 64.
[92] Jonathan Morgan, “Nuisance, Property and Human Rights, LQR, nº118, 2002, p. 27- 31.
[93] Fowler. V. Harper and Flaming James, Law of Torts, Little Brown & Co., Boston, 1956, p. 806.
[94] Allen M. Linden, “Whatever Happened to Rylands v. Fletcher?” in Lewis Klar (ed.), Studies in Canadian Tort Law, Butterworths, Toronto, 1977, p. 335.
[95] Ryeford Homes v Sevenoaks District Council (1898) Con LR 75.
[96] Balfour v. Barty-King (1957) 1 ALL ER 156.
[97] Mason v Levy Auto Parts of England (1967) 2 QB 530.
[98] E Hobbs (Farms) Limited v. The Baxenden Chemical Co Limited (1992)1 L1L Rep 54.
[99] Johnson v B J W Property (2002) 3 ALL ER 574.
[100] Restatement of the Law Second, Torts, American Law Institute, (1965−79).
[101] Restatement of the Law First, Torts, American Law Institute, 1939.