Depending on the nature of the harassment, contributory negligence may or may not be a defence to the plaintiff`s harassment complaint. Contributory negligence is a valid defence if the harassment is due to negligence. However, this is not a valid defence if the harassment is due to the intentional act of the defendant. In other words, nothing the plaintiff does can justify the defendant committing an intentional act of harassment. The term is also used less formally in the United States to describe the baseless nature of frivolous litigation. A lawsuit may be called a “harassment lawsuit” and a settlement may be called a “harassment settlement” if the defendant pays the plaintiff money to drop the case primarily to save the cost of litigation, not because the lawsuit has a significant probability of winning. “an act not justified by law, or a failure to comply with a statutory duty, which hinders, harasses or harms the public in the exercise of the rights common to all subjects of Her Majesty”. [1] In Scotland, there is no recognised distinction between public and private harassment. The law that constitutes harassment is essentially the same as in England. A list of legal harassment is contained in the Public Health (Scotland) Act 1867 and the amending Acts. The remedy for harassment is a prohibition or a measure.
[32] A contemporary example of harassment law in the United States is Section 40 Bylaw of Amherst, Massachusetts, known as the Nuisance House Bylaw. City members vote on the law in citizens` assemblies. The stated purpose of such an Act is as follows: “In accordance with the authority of Home Rule of the Town of Amherst and for the protection of the health, safety and welfare of the residents of the City, this by-law permits the City to be liable for nuisance and damage caused by noisy and unruly gatherings on private property, and prevents the consumption of alcoholic beverages by minors at these gatherings. [24] In English law, unlike American law, the fact that the plaintiff “came to harassment” is not a defence: Sturges v. Bridgman of 1879 is still good law, and a new owner can claim to be harassed for a neighbor`s existing activities. In February 2014, the decision of the Supreme Court of the United Kingdom in Coventry v. Lawrence[12] led to the launch of a campaign[13] to cancel the Coming to a Nuisance Act. Activists believe that the established legitimate activities that continue with the building permit and the support of local residents should be accepted as part of the character of the area by all new residents who come to the place. Risk-taking is also a valid defense, whether the harassment is intentional, negligent or not. Private harassment stems from the lawsuit in this case and protects a person`s right to use and enjoy their land.
[5] It does not include trespassing. [6] Harassment in English law is an area of tort law that is divided into two torts; private nuisance, if the defendant`s actions “cause substantial and unreasonable interference with the land of a [plaintiff] or its use or enjoyment of that land,”[1] and public nuisance, if the defendant`s actions “substantially interfere with the reasonable comfort and convenience of life of a class of Her Majesty`s subjects”; [2] Public nuisance is also a crime. Both offenses have been present since the time of Henry III and have been influenced over the years by a variety of philosophical changes, first relaxing and then much stricter, protecting less of an individual`s rights. Any tort requires the plaintiff to prove that the defendant`s actions caused unreasonable interference and, in certain situations, the defendant`s intent may also be taken into account. A key difference is that private harassment does not allow an asylum seeker to claim personal harm suffered, unlike public nuisance. A private nuisance is an interference with a person`s enjoyment and use of the land. The law recognizes that landowners or those who legitimately own land are entitled to the intact state of the property and to reasonable comfort and convenience in its use. As a general rule, only the State in which the public nuisance occurs may bring a public nuisance action. However, a person can sue for public nuisance if they suffer a certain type of harm. The defendants sometimes argue that a plaintiff “came to a nuisance” by moving on land next to an already operating source of interference. A new owner is entitled to fair use and enjoyment of his property like anyone else, but the argument can be considered in determining the appropriateness of the defendant`s conduct.
This may also affect the determination of damage, as the purchase price may have reflected the existence of the nuisance. The timing and duration of the activity are also taken into account in determining unreasonableness. Activities may be reasonable at one time, but not at another; In Halsey v. Esso Petroleum,[52] filling tankers at 10 a.m. was considered appropriate, but the same activity undertaken at 10 p.m. was inappropriate. A private nuisance is usually a “persistent state”, not a one-off situation; there are exceptions, such as in De Keyser`s Royal Hotel v Spicer,[53] where nocturnal smelt trees were considered boring. In such situations, the normal remedy is to issue an injunction limiting the duration of the activity.
[51] Another exception was found in British Celanese v AH Hunt Ltd,[54] where an electronics company stored film strips on its property that blew on adjacent land, cutting off power to a nearby wire manufacturer. A similar incident had occurred 3 years earlier and the accused had been warned to properly store their patrols; It was found that, although the power outage was a one-time event, the manner in which the film tapes were stored was an ongoing condition and the defendants were liable. [55] Harassment is either public, ordinary or private. A public or general nuisance is an inconvenience or an annoying offense because it annoys the whole community in general and not just one person in particular. To constitute a public nuisance, there must be so many people who are upset that the crime can no longer be considered a private nuisance: this is a fact to be judged by the jury. It is difficult to define the level of harassment required to constitute harassment. With regard to offensive business, it seems that if such a trade makes the enjoyment of life and property unpleasant, it is a nuisance to the neighborhood, which is entitled to clean and fresh air. A public nuisance is an unreasonable interference with the public`s right to property. This includes behaviours that compromise public health, safety, peace or convenience. The insufficiency may be proved by law or by the nature of the act, including the duration and severity of the effects of the activity. [4] There are several objections to this offense, including contributory negligence, risk-taking, harassment, or legal compliance.
Punitive damages may also be compensated if the defendant`s actions were intentional. In addition, the plaintiff may be granted the right to enter the defendant`s property in order to remedy the harassment himself. The remedies available in cases of private harassment are measures to prohibit the exploitation or continuation of the activity or condition or to collect damages. If the elimination of injunctive harassment would result in undue hardship to the community (the closure of factories that would deprive community workers of their livelihoods), it is the usual practice of courts to refuse an injunction and award money for the harm suffered.