Bradford Mayor and Company vs Pickles case summary(1895)
Facts:
The Mayor and Corporation of Bradford applied for an injunction against Mr. Pickles, a neighboring landowner, from removing water from his property. The company argued that the mining operation would interfere with the town's source of water, which was recharged from a stream not too far away.
legal issues:
The key legal issue was whether Mr. Pickles had a right to divert water from his land, given that it would contaminate the town's reservoir. Therefore, in this case, the balance between private property rights and the greater good of society were of consideration.
Legal Act :
The relevant law came in the form of laws on rights over water and common law, which placed a focal point on the concept of natural rights of land use.
Judgment:
The House of Lords in the case adopted judgment on Mr. Pickles' side, holding that he has a right to abstract water from his land. They considered the fact that, provided property rights do not disturb any other interest and are lawful, owners can do anything they like with their land. In this case, judgment gave precedence to the right of property over the claims for protectionist measures in public interest. The court found that there was no evidence to prove that Mr. Pickles' action would amount to creating a nuisance at law, thus he was permitted to continue with his operations for extracting water without any undue interference by the Bradford Corporation.
This was a landmark ruling in property law, thus expressing the limits to the extent of municipal power to regulate private use of land
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