Writing in NLJ this week, Buckley analyses Rubis Bahamas Ltd v Russell, where leaking petroleum from a filling station contaminated neighbouring land. The Privy Council rejected the idea that Rylands v Fletcher only applies to unusual activities, holding instead that what matters is whether the activity is ‘specialised and dangerous’.
More controversially, Lord Leggatt suggested the rule might extend beyond property damage to personal injury, remarking that ‘justice is not achieved by an interpretation of the common law which places more value on real property than on human life’.
Buckley argues the judgment could ‘loosen the bonds’ tying the rule to private nuisance and revive strict liability principles in modern tort law, especially where proving negligence is prohibitively difficult.
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