Further to Craig and Donal’s suggestions, Dr Mark Wilde has an article on the topic in the latest issue of Legal Studies: http://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/10.1111/lest.v37.4/issuetoc

Best wishes,

James

Thanks, Craig, you’re too kind!

 

Martin, my chapter was called ‘Nuisance, Planning and Regulation: The Limits of Statutory Authority’. As the title suggests, my focus was on the limits of the statutory authority defence, and why it shouldn’t be extended de facto to cover planning permission and regulatory compliance. For treatments that look more squarely at the nature of the defence itself in the nuisance context, I would highlight Linden ‘Strict Liability, Nuisance and Legislative Authorisation’ (1966) 4 Osgoode Hall LJ 196; Kodilinye ‘The Statutory Authority Defence in Nuisance Actions’ (1990) 19 Anglo-Am L Rev 72; and Arrowsmith Civil Liability and Public Authorities (1992) ch 8. The most wide-ranging analysis of the defence in nuisance case law of which I am aware is by the Supreme Court of Canada in Tock v St John’s Metropolitan Area Board [1989] 2 SCR 1181 (discussed by Hogg (1990) 69 Can Bar Rev 589), though note that the SCC returned to the question in Ryan v Victoria (City) [1999] 1 SCR 201. The leading UK case is Allen v Gulf Oil Refining Ltd [1981] AC 1001.  

 

There’s not really much that has been written about statutory immunity, as far as I know, and as for the relative merits of the two approaches, again I’m not aware of any literature in the nuisance context, but there was a political controversy about the choice between the two techniques when it came to the passing of s 158 of the Planning Act 2008 (UK). The provision as originally drafted would have conferred immunity in nuisance on the developers and operators of nationally significant infrastructure projects, but following a campaign by various interest groups the clause was redrafted so as merely to confer on their activities the more limited protection afforded by the statutory authority defence. See further on this, Moor, ‘Planning for Nuisance?’ (2011) 3 International Journal of Law in the Built Environment 65, 69–71.

 

all best

 

Donal

 

________________________________________

 

Donal Nolan

Professor of Private Law, University of Oxford

Francis Reynolds and Clarendon Fellow and Tutor in Law and Tutor for Graduates

Worcester College

Oxford

OX1 2HB

 

t: +44 (0)1865 278341

e: donal.nolan@law.ox.ac.uk

w: www.law.ox.ac.uk/people/donal-nolan

________________________________________

 

 

 

 

From: Purshouse, Craig [mailto:Craig.Purshouse@liverpool.ac.uk]
Sent: 04 December 2017 21:25
To: obligations@uwo.ca
Subject: Re: Articles re: statutory immunity vs. statutory authorization?

 

Dear Martin,

 

I don't know whether you have already come across it but Donal Nolan contributed a really great chapter to Dyson, Goudkamp and Wilmot-Smith (Eds), Defences in Tort on this topic. I don't have the title of the chapter to hand, though, I'm afraid.

 

Best wishes,

Craig

 

Dr Craig Purshouse

Lecturer in Law

School of Law and Social Justice, University of Liverpool

Room 258 Mulberry Court, Mulberry Street, Liverpool, L69 7ZY.

T: 0151 795 8669

---

From: Martin Olszynski <molszyns@ucalgary.ca>
Sent: 04 December 2017 21:00:19
To: obligations@uwo.ca
Subject: Articles re: statutory immunity vs. statutory authorization?

 

Dear All,

 

I am looking for articles or cases that discuss the defenses of statutory immunity and statutory authorization (e.g. in the context of nuisance). I would be particularly interested in discussions touching on the merits of each against notions of democratic accountability.

 

Best,

 

Martin Olszynski

Assistant Professor

University of Calgary Faculty of Law

2500 University Drive NW
Calgary AB T2N 1N4
Office: MFH 3346
Phone: (403) 220-3816
Email: molszyns@ucalgary.ca
SSRN: http://ssrn.com/author=1687308
Twitter: @molszyns

 

 

---

From: Stephen Pitel <spitel@uwo.ca>
Sent: November 27, 2017 10:24 AM
To: obligations@uwo.ca
Subject: ODG: Gerald Fridman 1928-2017

 

Colleagues,

Gerald Fridman, a giant of private law in Canada, passed away on Friday, November 24, 2017.  He was 89.

The funeral will be held on Friday, December 1 at 10am at Logan Funeral Home, 371 Dundas Street, London, Ontario.

In 2016 Western University awarded Gerald an honorary degree.  The text of the citation is below.  I think it can also serve, at least in part, as a memorial to his life as a scholar.

Stephen

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Gerald Henry Louis Fridman is an extraordinarily accomplished scholar of Canadian law.  His research and writing on private law has influenced generations of scholars, students, lawyers, law reformers and judges.  He is the only Canadian legal academic who has written and revised leading treatises on five different areas of Canadian law: contract, tort, unjust enrichment, sale of goods, and agency.
                     
Gerald was born in 1928 in London, England.  He attended St. John’s College at the University of Oxford where he earned a BA, BCL and MA.  He also earned a Master of Laws from the University of Adelaide.  He was admitted as a barrister-at-law of the Middle Temple in England and as a barrister and solicitor in South Australia, Alberta, and Ontario.

Gerald has held academic positions at the University of Adelaide, University College London, the University of Sheffield, and the University of Alberta, serving as Dean of its Faculty of Law from 1970 to 1975.  But first and foremost, for over 40 years, Gerald has been associated with the University of Western Ontario.  He joined our Faculty of Law in 1975 and became an emeritus professor in 1994.  Since then he has maintained an office in the Faculty and continues to spend much of his time there.  The ongoing development of the law, it would seem, has precluded retirement.

He published his first book in 1960 and his next book is due out in 2017.  In between he has written over thirty books and is best known for seven editions of The Law of Agency, six editions of The Law of Contract in Canada, six editions of Sale of Goods in Canada, and three editions of The Law of Torts in Canada.  In addition he has published scores of articles, major papers, case notes, comments, and book reviews.  He has done all of this without access to the internet.

Gerald’s scholarship was first cited as authority by the Supreme Court of Canada in 1979.  Since then he has been cited in over 50 decisions of the country’s highest court and in hundreds of lower court decisions.  His influence extends well beyond Canada, having been cited as authority by the highest courts of Australia, New Zealand, Singapore and the United Kingdom.

He was named a Fellow of the Royal Society of Canada in 1990 and a Queen’s Counsel by Ontario in 1985.  He won the Walter Owen Book Prize for distinguished writing on Canadian law and the David W. Mundell Medal for his outstanding contribution to law and letters in Ontario. 
 
Gerald’s ongoing commitment to research continues to benefit the private law scholars currently teaching and researching at Western.  We are very fortunate to have him as a colleague.  He also serves as a mentor to younger lawyers in his role as counsel at Cohen Highley LLP in London.

While passionate about private law, Gerald also takes great joy in theatre and opera and in his family, most notably Janet Fridman, his spouse of 57 years.

Mr. Chancellor, on behalf of the Vice-Chancellor and in the name of the Senate, I ask you to confer the degree of Doctor of Civil Law, honoris causa, upon Gerald Fridman, distinguished Canadian private law scholar.

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Professor Stephen G.A. Pitel
Faculty of Law, Western University
(519) 661-2111 ext 88433
President, University of Western Ontario Faculty Association