Unit 13 of Law of Torts, Motor Accident Claims and Consumer Protection (syllabus: Strict and Absolute Liability). Below: what the unit covers, the provisions it turns on, and the cases an examiner expects you to name.
What this unit covers
- When is a defendant liable for an escape without any proof of fault?
- What answers a claim under the rule in Rylands v. Fletcher?
- Absolute liability: why a hazardous enterprise has no defence at all
- Liability for animals: cattle trespass and the scienter rule
Treat that list as a self-test: recite each topic's rule from memory before you open its cases.
Leading cases
- Rylands v. Fletcher (1868) LR 3 HL 330
- Nichols v. Marsland (1876) 2 Ex D 1
- M.C. Mehta v. Union of India
- Behrens v. Bertram Mills Circus Ltd. [1957] 2 QB 1