Revill v. Newbery: a West Indian perspective

• Author: Zanifa McDowell
• Position: Lecturer in Law, University of the West Indies, Faculty of Law, Cave Hill Campus
• Pages: 612-620

REVILL v.

NEWBERY:

A WEST INDIAN PERSPECTIVE

ZANIFA

MCDOWELL*

The captioned

decision1

involved the question of liability under section

1 of the

U.K.

Occupiers' Liability Act

1984,

but has West Indian relevance

in so far

as

it deals with the common law position regarding trespassers or

unlawful visitors to the premises of an occupier and the duty of care owed

to such persons by the occupier.

In this case P was

a

trespasser on D's property. While P was attempting

to break in, D, aware of

the

possibility of

an

intrusion, fired a shot through

a small hole in his front door. As a result P was wounded in the arm and

chest. P brought an action for damages under section 1 of the Act. The

relevant issue for consideration was whether P was barred from succeeding

in

his

claim because (1) he was a trespasser, and (2) he had at the time of

the injury been engaged in criminal activity (i.e., whether the maxim ex

turpi

causa non

oritur actio applied). It was held by the Court of Appeal

that P was not debarred by the fact that he was a trespasser and was

engaged in criminal activity at the time of

the

injury. It was held that the

duty of care owed to a trespasser under the Act, and also at common law,

was to take such care as was reasonable in all the circumstances of the case

to see that the trespasser did not suffer injuiy on the premises. This applied

even where the trespasser was engaged in a criminal enterprise. In this

case,

however, although it

was

held that D was in breach of a duty owed to

P,

on the question of contributory negligence, it was held that P was two-

thirds to blame for his injuries.

In many of the Commonwealth Caribbean jurisdictions the common

law position on occupiers' liability

is

applicable. In Barbados and Jamaica,

the position is governed by the Occupiers' Liability Act, Cap.208

(Barbados), and the Occupiers' Liability Act 1969, Vol.XIII, Laws of

Jamaica, respectively. These Acts are similar to the U.K. Occupiers'

Liability Act 1957 and

they regulate

the duty which an occupier owes to his

"visitors", but do not affect

the

common law treatment of the duty owed to

trespassers.

Lecturer

in Law,

University

of the

West

Indies,

Faculty

of Law,

Cave Hill

Campus.

1

Revill

v.

Newbery [1996]

1

All E.R. 291.