Scribd
Upload
26 views17 pages

1 Occupiers' Liability Introduction

The document discusses occupiers' liability and the duties owed by those occupying premises to visitors and trespassers on the property. It outlines that at common law, occupiers owed invitees a duty of reasonable care, licensees a duty to warn of known dangers, and no duty to trespassers. The document then explains that the Occupiers' Liability Acts of 1957 and 1984 now statutorily define the duties owed to lawful visitors and trespassers, respectively. When analyzing a case, one must first identify the occupier, premises, claimant status as visitor or trespasser, and then apply the relevant statutory duty of care.

Uploaded by

Ramzy
Copyright
© © All Rights Reserved
We take content rights seriously. If you suspect this is your content, claim it here.
Available Formats
Download as PPTX, PDF, TXT or read online on Scribd
26 views17 pages

1 Occupiers' Liability Introduction

The document discusses occupiers' liability and the duties owed by those occupying premises to visitors and trespassers on the property. It outlines that at common law, occupiers owed invitees a duty of reasonable care, licensees a duty to warn of known dangers, and no duty to trespassers. The document then explains that the Occupiers' Liability Acts of 1957 and 1984 now statutorily define the duties owed to lawful visitors and trespassers, respectively. When analyzing a case, one must first identify the occupier, premises, claimant status as visitor or trespasser, and then apply the relevant statutory duty of care.

Uploaded by

Ramzy
Copyright
© © All Rights Reserved
We take content rights seriously. If you suspect this is your content, claim it here.
Available Formats
Download as PPTX, PDF, TXT or read online on Scribd
You are on page 1/ 17

Occupiers’ Liability

Introduction
Explain the nature of the duty owed to a lawful
Learning visitor or trespasser by an occupier of premises,

Outcomes and

Identify when that duty has been breached


Occupiers’ liability refer to the duty owed by occupiers to those
who come onto their premises.

The occupier does not have to be

Occupiers’ a. The owner

liability
b. In actual occupation

The different standards of care of a ‘reasonable occupier’ is now


set out in statutory form

(a) For lawful visitors in the Occupiers’ Liability Act 1957

(b) For trespassers in the Occupiers’ Liability Act 1984


Occupiers’ Liability: Common Law
provisions

Common law determined that an occupier of premises owes a duty toward the safety of
visitors coming onto their land.

Invitee: take reasonable care to protect against damage from unusual danger

Licensee: a duty to warn of known concealed danger

Trespassers: duty not to deliberately or recklessly cause them harm


Glasgow Corporation v Taylor 1922

The Corporation maintained and owned a park in which a bush was


growing. The bush produced poisonous berries that killed a 7-year-old boy
when he ate them. The corporation did not warn of the dangers or try to
fence off the bush.

HELD

Liable – the defendant was aware of the danger being an allurement to


young children.
Addie v Dumbreck 1929

A 4yr old boy was crushed by a haulage system belonging to a


colliery company. The company knew children got through the
gaps in the hedge to use it as a playground and others used it
to short cut to the railway station.

HELD

Not liable to a trespasser even such a young child.


Phipps v Rochester Corp 1955

A boy aged 5yrs fell down a trench on open land owned


by the council and was injured.

HELD

Not liable: occupier is entitle to expect a parent to prevent


a young child playing in a potentially unsafe area.
Occupiers’ Liability: Statutory provisions

In an exam question you must first identify whether the claimant is a lawful visitor or a
trespasser.

1. The duty of care to a lawful visitor is set out in the Occupiers’ Liability Act 1957

2. The duty of care to a trespasser is set out in the Occupiers’ Liability Act 1984
Identify the parties and the property
Always start by identifying the following:

1. Defendant – who is the ‘occupier’?

2. The property - not as obvious as you might think!

3. Claimant – are they a trespasser or a lawful visitor?

4. The scope and extent of the duty of care – set out in the relevant Act

Then you are in a position to apply the law to the scenario.


STEP 1: IDENTIFY THE DEFENDANT

The Person(s) in control of the premises eg owner, tenant, local

Occupier
authority, organiser of a stall at a fairground …

 There can be more than one occupier

(Defendant)  The occupier does not have to be in occupation to be in


control of the premises
Wheat v Lacon & Co Ltd 1966

Public House run by Manager with licence to run 1 st floor for


private use although brewery retained repairing and
maintenance obligations.

A visitor fell down the unlit staircase and was killed.

Who is the occupier and liable for damages?

Held:
Both were ‘occupiers’
Harris v Birkenhead
Corp 1976

Child injured in an empty house which the local


authority had not yet taken possession of, but
had control of, having served a compulsory
purchase order.

Held

Local Authority had control and was therefore


the ‘occupier’
STEP 2: IDENTIFY THE PREMISES
The
Premises There is no statutory definition of what premises are.
Which of these are
‘Premises’?
STEP 2: IDENTIFY THE PREMISES

The There is no statutory definition of what premises are.

Premises
However, s1(3)(a) Occupiers’ Liability Act 1957 refer to it being
any ‘fixed or moveable structure, including any vessel, vehicle
and aircraft’
STEP 3: IDENTIFY THE CLAIMANT

The A visitor who has no permission or authority to be on the occupier’s land is a

Claimant trespasser.

A lawful visitor is someone who has permission to be on the occupier’s land.

It is quite likely that an exam question will have both a lawful visitor and a
trespasser which will require you to talk about both Acts.
Structure of an answer to a case-study
Always start by identifying the following:

1. Defendant – who is the ‘occupier’?

2. The property - not as obvious as you might think!

3. Claimant – are they a trespasser or a lawful visitor?

4. The scope and extent of the duty of care – set out in the relevant Act

5. Then you are in a position to apply the law to the scenario.

You might also like

pFad - Phonifier reborn

Pfad - The Proxy pFad of © 2024 Garber Painting. All rights reserved.

Note: This service is not intended for secure transactions such as banking, social media, email, or purchasing. Use at your own risk. We assume no liability whatsoever for broken pages.


Alternative Proxies:

Alternative Proxy

pFad Proxy

pFad v3 Proxy

pFad v4 Proxy