What is the liability of a landowner for the loss of a piece of land that has been deliberately used for personal purposes?

Ontario, Canada


The following excerpt is from Ivall v. Aguiar, 2007 CanLII 17379 (ON SC):

In Rylands v. Fletcher, [See Note 1 below] Blackburn J. stated: [A] person who for his own purposes brings on his lands and collects and keeps there anything likely to do mischief if it escapes, must keep it in at his peril, and, if he does not do so, is prima facie answerable for all the damage which is the natural consequence of its escape. [page116] Under the rule in Rylands v. Fletcher, strict liability will attach to a defendant if the land is put to a non-natural use and if there is an escape.

Non-natural has come to mean special, exceptional or out of the ordinary. [See Note 2 below] Alternatively stated it is "damage occurring from a user inappropriate to the place where it is maintained". [See Note 3 below] As put by Lord Moulton in Rickards v. Lothian: It must be some special use bringing with it increased danger to others, and must not merely be the ordinary use of the land or such a use as is proper for the general benefit of the community. [See Note 4 below]

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