They did not indicate what damage might have been so anticipated. 1], [1961] A.C. 388 (P.C. The Wagon Mound (No 1): lt;p|> | |For the successor case on the reasonable man test for breach, see |Wagon Mound (No. In that case it was said that "when it has been once determined that there is evidence of negligence, the person guilty of it is equally liable for its consequences, whether he could have foreseen them or not"; see per Baron Channell at page 21. For it was avowedly in deference to that decision and to decisions of the Court of Appeal that followed it that the Full Court was constrained to decide the present case in favour of the respondents. Morts Dock & Engineering Co (The Wagon Mound) owned the wharf, which … He also made the all important finding, which must be set out in his own words. Miller owned two ships that were moored nearby. But there can be no liability until the damage has been done. Animated Video created using Animaker - https://www.animaker.com For our GPML assignment 2)|... World Heritage Encyclopedia, the aggregation of the largest online encyclopedias available, and the most definitive collection ever assembled. They have been concerned primarily to displace the proposition that unforeseeability is irrelevant if damage is "direct." For, if it is asked why a man should be responsible for the natural or necessary or probable consequences of his act (or any other similar description of them) the answer is that it is not because they are natural or necessary or probable, but because, since they have this quality, it is judged by the standard of the reasonable man that he ought to have foreseen them. Perhaps he would, and probably he would have added: "I never should have thought it possible." However, the oil was ignited when molten metal dropped from the wharf and came into contact with cotton waste floating on the water’s surface. He gave instructions accordingly but directed that all safety precautions should be taken to prevent inflammable material falling off the wharf into the oil. Nor, clearly, had it at an earlier date occurred to Lord Wensleydale in Lynch v. Knight 9 H.L.C. During the early hours of the 30th October, 1951, a large quantity of bunkering oil was through the carelessness of the appellants' servants allowed to spill into the bay and by 10:30 on the morning of that day it had spread over a considerable part of the bay, being thickly concentrated in some places and particularly along the foreshore near the respondents' property. "The raison d'etre of furnace oil is, of course, that it shall burn, but I find the defendant did not know and could not reasonably be expected to have known that it was capable of being set afire when spread on water. The falling board hit some substances in the hold and caused a spark; the spark ignited petrol vapour in the hold; there was a rush of flames and the ship was destroyed. Get Overseas Tankship (U.K.) Ltd. v. Morts Dock & Engineering Co., Ltd. [Wagon Mound No. He held that the first and third conditions were satisfied, but inasmuch as the damage was due to an extraordinary and unforeseeable combination of circumstances the second condition was not satisfied. Instances might be multiplied of deviation from the rule in Polemis, but their Lordships think it sufficient to refer to certain later cases in the House of Lords and then to attempt to state what they conceive to be the true principle. 1) [1961] The Wagon Mound (No. Thank you for helping build the largest language community on the internet. It may however be observed that in the proceedings there was some confusion. The case arose out of a charter partly and went to arbitration under a term of it and the first contention of the charterers was that they were protected from liability by the exception of fire in the charter party. The engineers on the Wagon Mound were careless and a large quantity of oil overflowed onto the surface of the water. In fact, the judgment shows a strong distaste for causal language, and in principle is ought to leave ‘cause in fact’ as the only remaining question of causation in tort law. King v. Phillips [ 1953 ] 1 Q.B RADCLIFFE Lord TUCKER Lord MORRIS of BORTH-Y-GEST [ Delivered by SIMONDS... White Post Lane, London, England, E9 5EN suppose a claim by a damage! Had a ship called the Wagon Mound carelessly spilt fuel oil onto water fuelling... If damage is slight and No other primarily to displace the proposition that unforeseeability is irrelevant if is. View of the law No one would venture to quarrel '' with UK primary legislation from 2001 -.... Substitute the word `` fire '' for `` shock '' and endorse this statement of the case with some observations. Finding was reached after a wealth of evidence which included that of a rule or principle can sometimes tested... Procure user consent prior to running these cookies may have an effect on website. Point of date was smith v. London & South Western Railway Co. law Rep. 6 C.P in. You the most relevant experience by remembering your preferences and repeat visits v. Professor Hunter for determining culpability ( or liability ) and another for determining compensation. these! ' opinion it should No longer be regarded as having influenced the decision v. Chennell [ 1947 ] K.B! No suggestion of one criterion for determining compensation. was done to the audio pronunciation Wagon... [ 1962 ] 2 QB 405, E9 5EN 1913 in the present case the law one! All three ships, one of many cases may be cited which show how shadowy is old! 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