Preface
Acknowledgements
Table of cases
Table of statutes
Table of statutory instruments
Table of treaties and conventions
PART I : THE PROVINCE OF TORT LAW
1. What is a tort?
The nature of a civil wrong
The nature of a tort
A question of terminology
2. An overview of tort law
What is tort law?
In what situations will someone commit a tort?
What remedies will be available when someone commits
a tort?
3. Some common misconceptions about tort law
A common misconception about the function of tort law
A common misconception about the nature of a tort
PART II : TORTS
A. Negligence
Introduction 33
4. Established duty situations 46
1. Situations in which a duty to take care not to act in a
dangerous fashion will be owed or will have been owed 46
Personal injury cases 46
Psychiatric illness cases 60
Property damage cases 78
2. Situations in which someone will owe another a duty of
care by virtue of the fact that he has acted in a
particular way 83
Creation of danger 83
Interference with rescue by third party 84
Control of a dangerous person or animal 85
Prisoners 87
The principle in Hedley Byrne 87
Dependency 101
3. People who will owe others duties of care by virtue of the
fact that they occupy some special status or position 107
Solicitors 107
Bailees 111
Occupiers of premises 113
Other occupiers 123
Landlords 124
Employers 125
Carriers 126
Parents 126
Teachers 127
5. The Caparo test 129
Antecedents of the test 129
The test explained 130
Applying the test 133
6. The impact of the Unfair Contract Terms Act 1977 and the
Human Rights Act 1998 161
The Unfair Contract Terms Act 1977 16
The Human Rights Act 1998 163
7. Breach of duty 169
Burden of proof 169
Companies and other artificial legal persons 173
Delegable and non-delegable duties of care 177
Time 183
Degree and foreseeability of risk 184
Personal circumstances 187
Professional standards 191
Common sense 193
B. Torts involving the infliction of certain kinds of harm
Introduction 198
8. Assault and battery 203
Battery 203
Assault 214
9. False imprisonment 216
Definition 216
The meaning of imprisonment 216
Lawful justification or excuse 218
10. Libel and slander 227
Common elements 227
What is defamatory? 227
The requirement of publication 237
Title to sue 240
Defences 241
The difference between libel and slander 263
Evaluation of the law on libel and slander 264
11. Conversion 271
Definition 271
Modes of conversion 271
Things that may be converted 275
Title to sue 275
Lawful justification or excuse 280
Exceptions to the rule 283
Extending the tort 284
12. Trespass to goods 285
Definition 285
The requirement of direct interference 285
Lawful justification or excuse 285
Extending the tort 288
13. Trespass to land 289
Definition 289
The mental element required to commit the tort 289
The degree of control required to commit the tort 290
Title to sue 292
Lawful justification or excuse 294
14. Private nuisance 296
Definition 296
Types of interference 299
Unreasonable interference 302
Creating, authorizing, adopting or continuing 310
A tort to land 317
Some unusual forms of private nuisance 323
15. Harassment 325
16. Inducing a breach of contract 326
Definition 326
The mental element required to commit the tort 327
When will someone be held to have induced a breach of
contract? 329
The degree of interference with a contract required to
commit the tort 335
Justification 337
Evaluating the tort 338
Torts analogous to the tort of inducing a breach of
contract 340
C. Torts involving the intentional infliction of harm
Introduction 342
17. Using unlawful means to harm another 350
Definition 350
Nominate torts and the 'genus' tort 353
18. The tort in Quinn v Leathem 358
A problem of terminology 358
The need for agreement 358
Legitimate reason 359
The problem of mixed motives 364
D. Torts involving the deception of others
Introduction 366
19. Deceit 368
Definition 368
Untrue representation of fact 368
Lack of honest belief 370
Intention 372
Inducement 373
Some difficult cases 375
20. Malicious falsehood 377
21. Passing off 381
Definition 381
The varieties of passing off 381
Extending the tort 386
Actionability 386
E. Torts involving the misuse of power
Introduction 388
22. Malicious prosecution and analogous torts 392
Malicious prosecution 392
Analogous torts 401
23. Misfeasance in public office 404
F. Other torts
24. The tort in Wilkinson v Downton 409
25. Torts involving the breach of a statutory duty owed to
another 411
Determining whether a statutory duty owed to another
is tortious in nature 412
Some examples of statutory duties owed to others that
are tortious in nature 421
PART III : REMEDIES
A. Compensatory damages
26. Basic principles 429
1. Limits on the right to sue 429
Special defences 429
Death 430
Crown immunity 430
Trade union immunity 431
Witness immunity 431
Abuse of process 433
Volenti non fit injuria 435
Illegality 437
Contractual exclusion of liability 441
Accord and satisfaction 449
Judgment 452
Limitation 455
2. Causation 465
Types of loss 465
Principles of causation 468
Some difficult cases 481
Presumption of loss 491
3. Actionability 491
Remoteness 492
Wrong kind of loss 499
Public policy 509
Losses that are automatically regarded as being
non-actionable 512
4. Quantification of loss 522
Personal injury cases 522
Property damage cases 527
Defamation cases 529
Other cases 530
5. Reduction in liability 531
Receipt of benefit 531
Contributory negligence 539
Limitation clause 545
27. Liability to third parties 546
Section 1 of the Fatal Accidents Act 1976 546
Section 3(5) of the Fatal Accidents Act 1976 557
Section 1A of the Fatal Accidents Act 1976 557
The Social Security (Recovery of Benefits) Act 1997
The Road Traffic (NHS Charges) Act 1999 558
The Congenital Disabilities (Civil Liability) Act 1976
Section 3 of the Latent Damage Act 1986 560
The principle of transferred loss 561
28. Vicarious liability 563
The meaning of vicarious liability 563
Situations of vicarious liability 563
Evaluation of the law on vicarious liability 580
Further points 582
B. Non-compensatory damages
29. Nominal damages 585
The availability of nominal damages 585
Reasons for seeking to be awarded nominal damages
A criticism of the law as it is now 589
30. Aggravated damages 591
The nature of aggravated damages 591
The availability of aggravated damages 593
31. Exemplary damages 598
The availability of exemplary damages 598
Further points 604
Evaluation of the law on exemplary damages 607
32. Restitutionary damages 612
The availability of restitutionary damages 612
Further points 616
Evaluation of the law on restitutionary damages
33. Damages for conversion 622
The general rule 622
Exceptions to the general rule 623
C. Remedies designed to prevent the commission of a tort
34. Injunction
Classification of injunctions
When will an injunction be granted?
35. Specific restitution of goods
PART IV : ALTERNATIVE SOURCES OF COMPENSATION
Introduction 643
36. The Human Rights Act 1998 645
What is a 'public authority'? 645
When will a public authority act incompatibly with
a 'Convention right'? 646
The availability of compensatory damages 648
37. Liability for dangerous things 653
The rule in Rylands v Fletcher 653
Liability rules analogous to the rule in Rylands
v Fletcher 661
The Animals Act 1971 664
38. Public nuisance 668
Introduction 668
The difficulty of defining public nuisance 668
Interference with public rights 669
Interference with the comfort and convenience of
the public 671
Isolated incidents 673
Creating, authorizing, adopting or continuing 673
Special damage 675
39. The Consumer Protection Act 1987 678
Antecedents of the Act 678
The basic rule 679
Defences 684
Remedies 688
40. The Competition Act 1998 691
Index