St Helen's Smelting Co v Tipping (1865)

Facts

The claimant owned a country estate near the industrial town of St Helen's. Trees and shrubs on the estate were damaged by vapours from the defendant's copper smelting company. The claimant brought an action in nuisance against the defendant but the defendant argued that the emissions were not a nuisance because several other copper smelting works were situated in the same town and acted in a similar manner. They argued that emitting these noxious vapours was a reasonable use of their land.

Decision

The House of Lords rejected this argument. According to Lord Westbury, there was a difference between nuisance causing material injury to the property and that 'productive of sensible personal discomfort' (650). Whether the latter constitutes a nuisance 'must undoubtedly depend greatly on the circumstances of the place where the thing complained of actually occurs'.

Comment

Nuisance is concerned with the unreasonable interference with…