LAW 122 Lecture Notes - Lecture 4: Independent Contractor, Equitable Remedy, Strict Liability

• School: Ryerson University
• Department: Law and Business
• Course: LAW 122
• Professor: Jane Monro

Document Summary

A defendant can be held strictly liable for her/his non-natural use of land if something escapes from their property and injures the plaintiff. Non-natural use of land: defendant either created a special danger or they created a special and unusual danger. Escapes: what ever is associated with the non-natural use of land must escape and harm the plaintiff. The defendant may be held liable even if they acted as carefully as possible. There are three defences available to defendant; albeit often difficult ones to prove: Consent: plaintiff consented to the defendant"s non-natural use of land. Third party or natural force: escape may have been caused by a situation the defendant could not have guarded against. Statutory authorization: defendant may have been granted special authority and the escape was an inevitable result of that authority. A contract in which an insurance company agrees, for money, to pay damages on behalf of a person who incurs liability.