''Aldred's Case'' (1610) 9 Co Rep 57b; (1610) 77 ER 816, 558–1774All ER Rep 622, is an English land law and

tort law A tort is a civil wrong, other than breach of contract, that causes a claimant to suffer loss or harm, resulting in legal liability for the person who commits the tortious act. Tort law can be contrasted with criminal law, which deals with crime ...

case on

nuisance Nuisance (from archaic ''nocence'', through Fr. ''noisance'', ''nuisance'', from Lat. ''nocere'', "to hurt") is a common law tort. It means something which causes offence, annoyance, trouble or injury. A nuisance can be either public (also "com ...

. The case can be seen as the birth of the ordinary man having a cause of action in certain types of

environmental law Environmental laws are laws that protect the environment. The term "environmental law" encompasses treaties, statutes, regulations, conventions, and policies designed to protect the natural environment and manage the impact of human activitie ...

against his immediate neighbour. The case confirmed a legal right to abate relatively extreme noise and smell, provided it cannot be justified as being protected by way of an

easement An easement is a Nonpossessory interest in land, nonpossessory right to use or enter onto the real property of another without possessing it. It is "best typified in the right of way which one landowner, A, may enjoy over the land of another, B" ...

have arisen such as from the passing of time (an

easement by prescription An easement is a nonpossessory right to use or enter onto the real property of another without possessing it. It is "best typified in the right of way which one landowner, A, may enjoy over the land of another, B". An easement is a property rig ...

) or custom on the piece of land in question. The judge recited the separate law, in an ''

obiter dictum ''Obiter dictum'' (usually used in the plural, ''obiter dicta'') is a Latin phrase meaning "said in passing",'' Black's Law Dictionary'', p. 967 (5th ed. 1979). that is, any remark in a legal opinion that is "said in passing" by a judge or arbitr ...

'' in an old Latin maxim in the English common law, that there is no right to a view. William Aldred claimed that Thomas Benton had erected and used a pigsty too close to his house, so that the stench made his own house unbearable to live in, including the "stopping of wholesome air".

Judgment

The court ruled that the smell of the sty was enough to deprive Aldred of his property and personal dignity and therefore a violation of his rights and his honour as it was stripped away from him, holding that a man has, "no right to maintain a structure upon his own land, which, by reason of disgusting smells, loud or unusual noises, thick smoke, noxious vapours, the jarring of machinery, or the unwarrantable collection of flies, renders the occupancy of adjoining property dangerous, intolerable, or even uncomfortable to its tenants..." The court also held the following.

External links

Text of the Report
from the 1826 edition 1610 in England 1610 in English law 1610s in case law 1610s in the environment Edward Coke cases English land case law English nuisance cases English tort case law Environmental case law Environmental law in the United Kingdom History of agriculture in England Pig farming Agricultural law {{England-law-stub

Judgment

See also

External links