Dear Colleagues:

I would be interested to find out your thoughts on Stephens v Anglian Water Authority. I have a gut feeling that it is wrongly decided since there seems to me to be a difference between preventing something from getting to the claimant and taking away something that is already on the claimants land. This distinction seems to be missed by the court when they argue that English law gives a 'right' to a land-owner to drain water from her land, which in the context of Bradford Pickles seems better described as a privilege rather than a 'claim-right'.

Any thoughts,

-- 
Jason Neyers
Associate Professor of Law & 
Cassels Brock LLP Faculty Fellow in Contract Law
Faculty of Law
University of Western Ontario
N6A 3K7
(519) 661-2111 x. 88435