12 April 2013
Barratt Homes Ltd v Dwr Cymru Cyfyngedig (Welsh Water) [2013] EWCA Civ 233, [2013] All ER (D) 290 (Mar)
The right conferred by s 106 of the Water Industry Act 1991 (WIA 1991) could not be invoked by the claimant as the basis of a cause of action in nuisance. The policy of the statute was clear: s 106 of WIA 1991 was not intended to confer a right to compensation for breach. If failure to perform a statutory duty did not give rise to a private right to sue for damages for breach it was difficult to see how it could provide the essential basis for a cause of action for damages in nuisance.
