39 Essex Chambers Webinar | Manchester Ship Canal Co. v United Utilities Water in the Supreme Court - the outfall for tort claims involving sewage, a practical appraisal
This webinar will give a neutral viewpoint of the landmark judgment and should be of interest to sewerage undertakers as well as those affected or with land affected by sewage.
The unanimous judgment of the Supreme Court in Manchester Ship Canal Company Ltd v United Utilities Water plc [2024] UKSC 22 earlier this month has generated nationwide interest but to date there has been limited exploration of what the Supreme Court’s explanation of Marcic v Thames Water Utilities Ltd [2002] 2 AC 42 and disapproval of the subsequent High Court judgments from Dobson v Thames Water Utilities Ltd [2007] EWHC 2021 TCC onwards, means in practice for the range of possible common law tortious claims against sewerage undertakers.
Landowner and undertaker negotiations over the price to be paid for deliberate sewerage outfall into private watercourses, or affecting riparian rights, is one thing, but the factual scenarios involving sewage escape are many and varied.
In this webinar, 39 Essex Chambers member James Burton will survey the newly-explained landscape through a practical lens, discussing the position not just for water and riparian owners subject to deliberate discharge, but also the ramifications for theoretical factual scenarios including:
1. Sewage spills to land due to burst sewer pipes;
2. Sewage affecting swimmers, within and without designated bathing areas, whether from deliberate outfall or non-deliberate burst; and
3. Sewage affecting other water users, again whether from deliberate outfall or non-deliberate burst.
James will draw on his experience across the spread of tort law and environmental law, using examples to illustrate the points.
For more future events, visit www.39essex.com/events