Bolton v Stone

Bolton v Stone [1951] AC 850 is a House of Lords decision on English tort law in the area of negligence . The decisive question was what requirements should be placed on the probability of damage occurring in order to lead to the damaging party being liable as a violation of the duty of care .

Facts and lower courts

facts

The plaintiff was hit by a cricket ball while standing off the defendant's pitch. The ball had previously traveled about 100 yards (about 92 meters) and passed a 17 foot (about 5 meters) high fence. Similar incidents had occurred no more than six times in the past thirty years. The plaintiff demanded damages. The defendant defended himself by stating that his behavior was not negligent, since such an accident was too unlikely for precautionary measures to have to be taken.

Decision of the House of Lords

The House of Lords ruled on May 10, 1951 against a judgment in favor of the plaintiff. Lord Reid , who wrote the leading judgment , justified this with the fact that it depends not only on the predictability of the damage, but also on whether the damage is sufficiently probable and sufficiently severe that the necessity exists when measured against the objective standard of the reasonable man To take precautions.