What did McKinnon Industries v Walker [1951] decide?

Fumes from a factory damaged the claimant's ordinary plants and also his delicate orchids. The court held that once a nuisance is established the claimant recovers for the sensitive use as well.

How has the sensitivity rule been reframed in modern cases?

Network Rail Infrastructure v Morris [2004] treated abnormal sensitivity as an aspect of foreseeability. The question is whether damage of that kind to that claimant was reasonably foreseeable.

What were the facts of Network Rail Infrastructure v Morris [2004]?

Railway signalling equipment caused electromagnetic interference with electric guitars at a nearby recording studio. The Court of Appeal held there was no nuisance, because such interference was not reasonably foreseeable.

What effect does malice have on a nuisance claim?

Malice can turn otherwise reasonable conduct into an unreasonable user of land. A deliberate intention to annoy a neighbour weighs heavily against the defendant.

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Parliamentary and European Law Making

Topic overview Green Papers, White Papers and the making of a Bill The legislative process through Parliament The composition and role of Parliament Influences on Parliament and law making Parliamentary sovereignty The UK constitution, separation of powers and the rule of law The royal prerogative Law reform and the Law Commission European Union institutions and sources of law The impact of European Union law and withdrawal

Delegated Legislation

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Statutory Interpretation

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Judicial Precedent

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The Civil Courts and Civil Process

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Legal Personnel

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Tort: Torts Connected to LandTort

Topic overview Trespass to land: unlawful entry and intention Defences to trespass to land and the remedies available Public nuisance and the class of persons affected Suing in public nuisance: special damage and the Attorney-General Private nuisance: the parties and the interference Unreasonable user: locality, duration and utility Abnormal sensitivity and the effect of malice Specific defences to nuisance: prescription and statutory authority Rylands v Fletcher: the elements of the rule Specific defences to Rylands v Fletcher

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Tort: Torts Connected to Land

Abnormal sensitivity and the effect of malice

3 things to know
Components 2 and 3

Overview

Robinson v Kilvert and McKinnon Industries on the unusually delicate claimant, how Network Rail v Morris reframed the rule as foreseeability, and why malice can make an otherwise lawful use unreasonable.

What you need to know

Answer each one before you reveal it.

Your recallNot started

Numbers

What did Fearn v Board of Trustees of the Tate Gallery [2023] decide?

Key term

What is the rule about abnormal sensitivity in private nuisance?

Key term

What did Robinson v Kilvert (1889) decide?

Questions from this subtopic

Each one with the model answer underneath.

1
What is the rule about abnormal sensitivity in private nuisance?
Model answer
A claimant cannot complain of an interference that troubles only an unusually sensitive use of land. The test asks whether an ordinary occupier would have been affected.
2
What did Robinson v Kilvert (1889) decide?
Model answer
Heat from the defendant's cellar damaged exceptionally delicate brown paper stored on the floor above. The court held there was no nuisance, because ordinary paper would not have been harmed.
3
What did McKinnon Industries v Walker [1951] decide?
Model answer
Fumes from a factory damaged the claimant's ordinary plants and also his delicate orchids. The court held that once a nuisance is established the claimant recovers for the sensitive use as well.
4
How has the sensitivity rule been reframed in modern cases?
Model answer
Network Rail Infrastructure v Morris [2004] treated abnormal sensitivity as an aspect of foreseeability. The question is whether damage of that kind to that claimant was reasonably foreseeable.
5
What were the facts of Network Rail Infrastructure v Morris [2004]?
Model answer
Railway signalling equipment caused electromagnetic interference with electric guitars at a nearby recording studio. The Court of Appeal held there was no nuisance, because such interference was not reasonably foreseeable.
6
What effect does malice have on a nuisance claim?
Model answer
Malice can turn otherwise reasonable conduct into an unreasonable user of land. A deliberate intention to annoy a neighbour weighs heavily against the defendant.

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