Anns V Merton London Borough Council

[malana3]

When a building developer demolishes a single property and erects several new properties on the site does the Building Control dept of the Local Authority have a duty of care to ensure all old foul and surface water manholes are securely capped and sealed? I have a situation where an old surface water manhole surcharges during heavy rainfall. I have tried reading the judgement of the case quoted above but as a non legal layman I cannot follow the decision.

[atalanta]

Try asking the Citizens Advice Bureau. They know all sorts of stuff.

[Buenchico]

The court ruling in Anns V Merton London Borough Council was largely set aside by that in Murphy v Brentwood District Council, which determined that a local authority was not liable where the only loss to the claimant was an economic one, rather than through physical injury.

http://swarb.co.uk/murphy-v-brentwood-district-council-hl-26-jul-1990/

[Peter Pedant]

Yup
St Anns was overruled
some time ago actually - 1973
havent reaccessed it in writing this

One of the great Lord Dennings cases - where he tried to drag equity into contract I think

One of Lord D's own little babies - nurtured and so on - and cruelly cut down after I left uni. - one of the cases along the way of the 'High Trees' doctrine which was cruelly done to death in the early seventies. - even St Anns said that the so called right was a 'shield and not a sword.' and in your case looks rather swordy to me

A bit like Eady J's sally on privacy and superinjunctions (which forbade even mention that a case on privacy had been brought)

erm I think you need proper advice
my manhole cover in my back yard is NOT sealed etc - is open to other people - you just pull on it and up it comes
and I am not allowed to build over it

Denning now dead wrote very readable books on this ( not law text books but required reading etc ) The doctrine does this and the doctrine does that and here's a case where he nurtured it and extended it and it was his very own valuable contribution to law and turn over the page p.74 and someone's cut its throat !

if you want a really crazy case which is not comprehensible then try Sweet v Parsley ( landlord liable for private use of drugs on let premises without notice - later thankfully overruled)

wow a rave from the grave - thx
st anns ruled supreme when I wrote my finals