Interference with natural watercourses: nuisance, negligence and strict liability

Discusses the Outer House judgment in Viewpoint Housing Association Ltd v Edinburgh City Council on whether the defender owed the pursuer a duty of care to maintain the condition of a culvert for the purpose of determining if it was liable in negligence or nuisance for flood damage caused to the pursuer's property. Considers the relationship between negligence and nuisance, given that the pursuer relied on the same pleadings on culpability to establish both grounds. Assesses how the pursuer's claim that the defender was strictly liable might have been adjudicated had it been allowed to go to proof before answer.© 2011 Sweet & Maxwell