Nuisance

Nuisance
Meaning
 The word “nuisance” is derived from the
French word “nuire”, which means “to do
hurt, or to annoy”.
 If someone else’s improper use in his
property results into an unlawful
interference with his use or enjoyment of
that property or of some right over, or in
connection with it, we may say that tort of
nuisance occurred.
 Nuisance is an unlawful interference with a
person’s use or enjoyment of land, or of
some right over, or in connection with it
Essential Element of Nuisance
 Wrongful act.
 Damage/loss/annoyance caused to
another individual.
• Annoyance can be from a variety of
intangible things such as smell, noise etc.
• Eg: A starts a cement factory on his own
land. The gigantic noise and dust from the
factory disturbs his neighbor B along with
polluting his house. Here A commits
nuisance by disturbing B
Definition
 According to Salmond, “the wrong of
nuisance consists in causing or
allowing without lawful justification
the escape of any deleterious thing
from his land or from elsewhere into
land in possession of the plaintiff, e.g.
water, smoke, fumes, gas, noise,
heat, vibration, electricity, disease,
germs, animals”.
Definition
 Stephen defined nuisance to be
“anything done to the hurt or
annoyance of the lands, tenements of
another, and not amounting to a
trespass.”
 Bermingham defined nuisance is an
unlawful interference with person’s
use and enjoyment of land, or of
some right over or in connection with
it.
Distinguish Between Nuisance and
Trespass
 Trespass is direct physical interference
with the plaintiff’s possession of land
through some material or tangible
object while nuisance is an injury to
some right accessory to possession but
no possession itself.
• E.g. a right of way or light is an incorporeal
right over property not amounting to
possession of it, and hence disturbance of it is
a nuisance and not trespass.
Trespass
 Trespass is actionable per se, while
nuisance is actionable only on proof of
actual damage. It means trespass and
nuisance are mutually exclusive.
 Simple entry on another’s property
without causing him any other injury
would be trespass. In nuisance injury to
the property of another or interference
with his personal comfort or enjoyment of
property is necessary.
Trespass
 If interference is direct, the wrong is
trespass, if it is consequential, it
amounts to nuisance.
• E.g. Planting a tree on another’s land
is trespass, whereas when one plants
a tree over his own land and the roots
or branches project into or over the
land of another person, act is
nuisance.
Kinds of Nuisance
 Two Kinds
1. Public Nuisance.
2. Private Nuisance.
Public Nuisance
 A public nuisance is an unreasonable,
unwarranted or unlawful interference
with a right common to the general
public.
 Simply speaking, public nuisance is
an act affecting the public at large, or
some considerable portion of it; and
it must interfere with rights which
members of the community might
otherwise enjoy.
Public Nuisance
 Thus acts which seriously interfere with the health,
safety, comfort or convenience of the public
generally or which tend to degrade public morals
have always been considered public nuisance.
 It comes into the domain of Criminal Acts under the
Indian Law.
 Section 268 of the Indian Penal Code, defines it.
 In order to avoid multiplicity of proceeding both
civil and criminal (res-judicata), Public Nuisance do
not allow civil aviation.
 An individual may have a private right of action in
respect of public nuisance.
Public Nuisance
 Carrying on trade which cause offensive smells,
Malton Board of Health v. Malton Manure Co.,
(1879) 4 Ex D 302.
 Carrying on trade which cause intolerable noises,
Lambton v. Mellish, (1894) 3 Ch 163
 Drawing water in a can from a filthy source,
Attorney General v. Hornby, (1806) 7 East 195
 In Solatu v. De Held (1851) 2 Sim NS 133, the
plaintiff resided in a house next to a Roman
Catholic Chapel of which the defendant was the
priest and the chapel bell was rung at all hours of
the day and night. It was held that the ringing was
a public nuisance and the plaintiff was held
entitled to an injunction.
Private Nuisance
 A nuisance interferes with the right of specific
person or individual or entity, it is considered
a private nuisance.
 Private Nuisance lawsuits typically arise
between neighbours, with one property owner
being negatively affected by the act of his or
her neighbour.
 It gives the affected person a claim of ‘Right
of Personam’.
 Eg: a neighbour regularly plays his music at
maximum volume late at night.
Private Nuisance
 The remedy in an action for private
nuisance is a civil action for damages
or an injunction or both.
 Kinds of Private Nuisance
• Damage to property.
• Physical Discomfort.
Private Nuisance
 In Ram Raj Singh v. Babulal, AIR 1982 All. 285:, the
plaintiff, a doctor, complained that sufficient quantity
of dust created by the defendant’s brick powdering
mill, enters the consultation room and causes
discomfort and inconvenience to the plaintiff and his
patients. The Court held that when it is established that
sufficient quantity of dust from brick powdering mill set
up near a doctor’s consulting room entered that room
and a visible thin red coating on clothes resulted and
also that the dust is a public hazard bound to injure the
health of persons, it is clear the doctor has proved
damage particular to himself. That means he proved
special damage.
Private Nuisance
 In St. Helen Smelting Co. v. Tipping, (1865) 77 HCL 642:,
the fumes from the defendant’s manufacturing work
damaged plaintiff’s trees and shrubs. The Court held
that such damages being an injury to property gave rise
to a cause of action.
 In Dilaware Ltd. v. Westminister City Council, (2001) 4
All ER 737 (HL):, the respondent was owner of a tree
growing in the footpath of a highway. The roots of the
tree caused cracks in the neighbouring building. The
transferee of the building, after the cracks were
detected, was held entitled to recover reasonable
remedial expenditure in respect of the entire damage
from the continuing nuisance caused by the trees.
Defences
 Valid Defences are
• Prescription.
• Statutory Authority.
Prescription
 A prescription is a title acquired by use
and time and which is allowed by law,
a person claim any property because
his ancestors have hade the
possession of the property by the law.
 If nuisance has been peacefully and
openly been going on without any kind
of interruption then the defence of
prescription is available to the party.
Prescription
 On the expiration of this term of 20
years, the nuisance becomes legalised
as if it had been authorised in its
commencement by a grant from the
owner of the land.
 The essence of prescription is explained
in Section 26 Limitation Act and in
Section 15 of the Easements Act.
Statutory Authority
 Where a statute has authorised the doing of a
particular act or the use of land in a particular way,
all remedies whether by way of indictment or action,
are taken away; provided that every reasonable
precaution consistent with the exercise of the
statutory powers has been taken. Statutory authority
may be either absolute or conditional.
 In Vaughan V. Taff Rly (1860) 5 HN 679, the act of the
defendant of building the locomotive lines, being
protected under the statutory authority, prevented
the Plaintiff from bringing any action against the
former, despite the damage suffered by the latter.
Exceptions to Defence
 It is no defence to claim that the Plaintiff himself
came to the place of Nuisance.
 It is no defence to claim that all reasonable care
had been adopted by the defendant to prevent
the act of Nuisance interrupt or harm the Plaintiff.
 It is no defence to claim that there are others as
well who commit Nuisance against the Plaintiff
and that the defendant is not the sole wrongdoer.
 It is no defence to claim that the act of Nuisance
is for the benefit of Public and affects negatively
to the Plaintiff only.
Thank You!!!

Nuisance

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