Learner resource 6: Rylands v Fletcher – case
table
Case
Rylands v Fletcher (1868)
Leakey v The National Trust
(1980)
Rickards v Lothian (1913)
British Celanese v A H Hunt
Ltd (1969)
Cambridge Water Co. v
Eastern Counties leather
PLC (1994)
Read v Lyons (1947)
Rigby v Chief Constable of
Northamptonshire (1985)
Version 1
Law of Torts
Facts
A mill owner stored water in a
large reservoir. The water leaked
into mineshafts below that had
not been blocked off. The water
flooded into a neighbour’s mine
causing damage.
A mound of loose earth slipped
and caused damage in
neighbouring land.
A trespasser turned on taps and
blocked up plugholes causing a
flood into the claimant’s flat.
Strips of metal foil stored in the
defendant’s factory blew onto the
claimant’s land and caused a
power failure when they touched
an electricity sub-station.
Storage of chemicals used in the
tanning process of leather leaked
out and entered the waterways.
An explosion in a munitions
factory injured an inspector and
some employees.
The police negligently released
CS gas on a highway.
1 © OCR 2017
Held
The defendant was liable. This
case created a new area of tort
which the law is named after.
The defendants were liable as
they were aware that the
mound of earth was at risk of
slipping and did nothing to
prevent it.
The defendant was not liable as
a domestic water supply is
considered a natural use of
land.
There was no liability as the
court held that storage of metal
foil was a natural use of land
and that the factory benefitted
the public.
This was considered a non-
natural use of land although the
claim failed as the damage was
not foreseeable.
Rylands did not apply in this
case as there was no escape
onto other land.
The police were held
responsible even though they
were not the occupiers of the
land, they had control over the
highway.