Knowledge (XXG)

Dorset Yacht Co Ltd v Home Office

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228:- and done damage. But there is never a case in our law books when the prison authorities have been liable for it. No householder who has been burgled, no person who has been wounded by a criminal, has ever recovered damages from the prison authorities; such as to find a place in the reports. The householder has claimed on his insurance company. The injured man can now claim on the compensation fund. None has claimed against the prison authorities. Should we alter all this: I should be reluctant to do so if, by so doing, we should hamper all the good work being done by our prison authorities... I can see the force of this argument. But I do not think it should prevail. I think that the officers of Borstal institutions should be liable for negligence. 253:...the well-known passage in Lord Atkin's speech should I think be regarded as a statement of principle. It is not to be treated as if it were a statutory definition. It will require qualification in new circumstances. But I think that the time has come when we can and should say that it ought to apply unless there is some justification or valid explanation for its exclusion. 39: 174:. Seven trainees escaped one night, at the time the officers had retired to bed leaving the trainees to their own devices. The seven trainees who escaped boarded a yacht and collided with another yacht, the property of the respondents, and damaged it. The owners of the yacht sued the Home Office in 283:
may be regarded as a milestone, and the well-known passage in Lord Atkin’s piece should I think be regarded as a statement of principle … it ought to apply unless there is some justification or valid explanation for its exclusion. For example, causing economic loss is a different
277:‘there has been a steady trend toward regarding the law of negligence as depending on principle so that when a new point emerges one should ask not whether it is covered by authority but whether recognised principles apply to it. 202:
for any duty on similar facts. Further, it was argued that there could be no liability for the actions of a third party and that the Home Office should be immune from legal action owing to the public nature of its duties.
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if an action would lie against any of the officers. The preliminary hearing found for the Dorset Yacht Co. that there was, in law, a duty of care and that the case could go forward for trial on its facts. The Home Office
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What then is the right policy for the judges to adopt? On whom should the risk of negligence fall? Up till now it has fallen on the innocent victim. Many, many a time has a prisoner escaped - or been let out on
101: 146:. The case also addressed the liability of government bodies, a person's liability for the acts of third parties that he has facilitated, and liability for 97: 395: 246: 185:
A preliminary issue was ordered to be tried on whether the officers or the Home Office owed a duty of care to the claimants (plaintiffs, before the
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but also for its expression of a thoroughly incrementalist approach to the development of the duty of care. Lord Reid held:
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of 1999) capable of giving rise to liability in damages. It was admitted that the Home Office would be
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held that the Home Office should be liable for the damage on grounds of public policy. He stated,
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to the House of Lords. The Home Office argued that it could owe no duty of care as there was no
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The case is perhaps relevant not only for its clear elucidation of the 1930s-established
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Administrative Redress: Public bodies and the Citizen - A Consultation Paper
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and marked the start of a rapid expansion in the scope of negligence in the
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by widening the circumstances in which a court was likely to find a
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under the control of three officers employed by the
89: 84: 76: 71: 63: 55: 45: 31: 271:neighbourhood (a proximity or sufficient nexus) 251: 221: 335:The Negligence Liability of Public Authorities 257:Viscount Dilhorne gave a dissenting judgment. 8: 37: 28: 249:held 4–1 likewise. Lord Reid held, 305: 7: 237:, Q.B (CA 1969). 25: 234:Dorset Yacht Co Ltd v Home Office 119:Home Office v Dorset Yacht Co Ltd 32:Home Office v Dorset Yacht Co Ltd 126:, AC 1004 is a leading case in 396:1970 in United Kingdom case law 67:2 All ER 294, AC 1004, UKHL 2 1: 375:Third Party Liability in Tort 361:Tort Law:Text and Materials 432: 158:On 21 September 1962, ten 18:Home Office v Dorset Yacht 359:M Lunney and K Oliphant, 162:trainees were working on 36: 333:C Booth and D Squires, 406:Home Office litigation 286: 255: 230: 401:English tort case law 275: 187:Civil Procedure Rules 124:[1970] UKHL 2 391:House of Lords cases 280:Donoghue v Stevenson 363:(2nd edn OUP 2003) 377:(Hart 2006, 17–20) 191:vicariously liable 411:History of Dorset 115: 114: 102:Viscount Dilhorne 16:(Redirected from 423: 322: 319: 313: 310: 295:English tort law 236: 128:English tort law 85:Court membership 41: 29: 21: 431: 430: 426: 425: 424: 422: 421: 420: 381: 380: 330: 325: 320: 316: 311: 307: 303: 291: 263: 243: 232: 217:Lord Denning MR 214: 212:Court of Appeal 209: 164:Brownsea Island 156: 23: 22: 15: 12: 11: 5: 429: 427: 419: 418: 413: 408: 403: 398: 393: 383: 382: 379: 378: 371: 357: 348:Law Commission 345: 329: 326: 324: 323: 314: 304: 302: 299: 298: 297: 290: 287: 262: 259: 242: 241:House of Lords 239: 213: 210: 208: 205: 155: 152: 140:United Kingdom 132:House of Lords 113: 112: 91: 90:Judges sitting 87: 86: 82: 81: 78: 74: 73: 69: 68: 65: 61: 60: 57: 53: 52: 50:House of Lords 47: 43: 42: 34: 33: 24: 14: 13: 10: 9: 6: 4: 3: 2: 428: 417: 416:Poole Harbour 414: 412: 409: 407: 404: 402: 399: 397: 394: 392: 389: 388: 386: 376: 372: 370: 369:0-19-926055-9 366: 362: 358: 356:(2008) LC/187 355: 354: 349: 346: 344: 343:0-19-926541-0 340: 336: 332: 331: 327: 318: 315: 309: 306: 300: 296: 293: 292: 288: 285: 282: 281: 274: 272: 268: 260: 258: 254: 250: 248: 247:highest court 240: 238: 235: 229: 227: 220: 218: 211: 206: 204: 201: 197: 192: 188: 183: 181: 177: 173: 169: 168:Poole Harbour 165: 161: 153: 151: 149: 145: 141: 137: 133: 129: 125: 121: 120: 111: 107: 103: 99: 95: 92: 88: 83: 79: 75: 70: 66: 62: 58: 54: 51: 48: 44: 40: 35: 30: 27: 19: 374: 360: 351: 334: 317: 308: 278: 276: 264: 261:Significance 256: 252: 244: 233: 231: 222: 215: 184: 157: 144:duty of care 134:decision on 118: 117: 116: 110:Lord Diplock 106:Lord Pearson 77:Prior action 72:Case history 26: 337:(OUP 2006) 172:Home Office 98:Lord Morris 385:Categories 373:C McIvor, 328:References 269:notion of 176:negligence 136:negligence 130:. It is a 59:6 May 1970 200:precedent 148:omissions 94:Lord Reid 312:2 QB 426 289:See also 267:Atkinian 207:Judgment 196:appealed 80:2 QB 426 64:Citation 321:AC 1004 284:matter’ 180:damages 160:borstal 56:Decided 367:  341:  226:parole 301:Notes 154:Facts 122: 46:Court 365:ISBN 339:ISBN 245:The 178:for 166:in 387:: 350:, 182:. 150:. 108:, 104:, 100:, 96:, 20:)

Index

Home Office v Dorset Yacht

House of Lords
Lord Reid
Lord Morris
Viscount Dilhorne
Lord Pearson
Lord Diplock
[1970] UKHL 2
English tort law
House of Lords
negligence
United Kingdom
duty of care
omissions
borstal
Brownsea Island
Poole Harbour
Home Office
negligence
damages
Civil Procedure Rules
vicariously liable
appealed
precedent
Lord Denning MR
parole
highest court
Atkinian
neighbourhood (a proximity or sufficient nexus)

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