Nuisance

According to Salmond, nuisance consists in causing or allowing to cause without lawful

justification, the escape of any deleterious thing from one’s land or from anywhere into
land in possession of the plaintiff
Physical discomfort
In a suit of nuisance arising out of physical discomfort, there are two essential conditions
required.
 In excess of the natural and ordinary course of enjoyment of the property.
The usage by the third party should be of out of the natural course of enjoyment from one
party.
 Interfering with the ordinary conduct of human existence.
The discomfort should be of such a degree that it would affect an individual in the
locality and people would not be able to put up or tolerate with the enjoyment.
whether anything is a nuisance or not is a question to be determined, not merely by an
abstract consideration of the thing itself, but in reference to its circumstances
Prior Acquiescence (Coming to the Nuisance ) DEFENCE
Coming to the nuisance refers to a legal doctrine which prevents a party from claiming
nuisance if said nuisance was present, and the party knew of that nuisance before they
acquired the property subject to the nuisance
Assumption of risk (grant / Consent) DEFENCE
Plaintiff’s inability to recover for the tortious actions of a negligent party in scenarios
where the plaintiff voluntarily accepted the risk of those actions. Potential plaintiffs
sometimes take the risk of injury onto themselves and absolve potential defendants from
any liability.
Volenti non fit injuria -----To a willing person, injury is not done
Criterions:
 Plaintiff must have entered into the nuisance of their own free will.
 Must have full knowledge of the nature and extent of risk.
 Knowing the same, must have agreed to suffer the same (Implied or
expressed)

Unreasonable Interference
There are five main factors which, to date, have been used to determine unreasonableness
– Nature of the Locality, claimant sensitivity, nuisance duration, public benefit, and
defendant malice
Damages: This is the monetary compensation for any loss or injury occasioned to the
plaintiff by reason of the nuisance. There are many types of damages, namely a.
Aggravated damages b. Nominal damages c. Special damages
Injunction:
a. Interim injunction – obtained pending the determination of the interlocutory injunction
(applicable in urgent cases).
b. Interlocutory injunction – obtained pending the determination of the final injunction.
c. Final injunction – this exists to prohibit one from doing something.
d. Prohibitory injunction – this exists to prohibit one from doing something.
e. Mandatory injunction – this exists to mandate one to do something
91.(1) CPC In the case of a public nuisance the Advocate-General, or two or more
persons having obtained the consent in writing of the Advocate-General, may institute a
suit, though no special damage has been caused, for a declaration and injunction or for
such other relief as may be appropriate to the circumstances of the case.