Caparo Vs Dickman Essay

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In both of the situations presented in the questions, the question of negligence and liability is central. Thus, we must also establish whether the potential defendants in question owed a legal duty to take care. For a defendant to be liable, they must have caused damage that is not too remote as a result of the breach of this duty. A prominent case, which sets out a test for detrmining whether or not a duty of care is owed, is Caparo v Dickman. Here, the judges determined that there must foreseeability, proximity between the parties and whether a duty is fair, just and reasonable in the circumstances. Furthermore, examination of misfeasance, a positive act, which causes harm and non- feasance an omission, that causes harm must come into play. …show more content…

In order to achieve this we may use the Caparo test.

First, we can establish whether or not there was foreseeability of this accident. As outlined in the test, the relevant question is what a “reasonable person” ought to have foreseen in the circumstances. Firstly, it would seem that there is no evidence to suggest that Greg was not a “reasonable person”. Furthermore, based on the facts of the case, Greg ought to have foreseen that the paint, which a visiting expert told him, was stored in a part of the warehouse, which was not appropriate. Here, we have clearly shown that the foreseeability seem to be fulfilled.

However, to fully fulfill the criteria, it must be shown that it was reasonably foreseeable that the conduct of the defendant would affect the particular claimant, in this case Jane. Again, we can look to the facts of the case to see that the stray firework was a result of Bonfire Night celebrations and that Jane’s house was close enough to be damaged by a fire in the warehouse. This suggests that the warehouse was in a residential area. Thus, it can be argued that the neighbouring houses were clearly foreseeable claimants as, as Lord Atkin wrote, they could be “closely and directly affected” by the defendant’s

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