Rickards v Lothian [1913] AC 263 Privy Council

The claimant ran a business from the second floor of a building. The defendant owned the building and leased different parts to other business tenants. An unknown person had blocked all the sinks in the lavatory on the fourth floor and turned on all the taps in order to cause a flood.  This damaged the claimant’s stock and the claimant brought an action based on the principle set out in Rylands v Fletcher.

Held:

The defendants were not liable. The act which caused the damage was a wrongful act by a third party and there was no non-natural use of land.

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