It is said that a nuisance is an interference with the use and enjoyment of land. This definition is typically unhelpful. While a nuisance must fit this account, it is plain that not all such interferences are legal nuisances. Thus, analysis of this area of the law begins with a definition far too broad for its subject matter, forcing the analyst to find more or less arbitrary ways of cutting back on potential liability. Tort law is plagued by this kind of approach. In the law of nuisance, today's preferred method of cutting back is to employ the notion of reasonableness. No one seems to know quite what 'reasonableness' means in this context, however. This is because, in fact, it does not mean anything. The notion is no more than the immediately recognisable symptom of our inadequate comprehension of the law. This book expounds a new understanding of the law of nuisance, an understanding that presents the law in a coherent and systematic fashion. It advances a single, central suggestion: that the law of nuisance is the method that the common law utilises for prioritising property rights so that conflicts between uses of property can be resolved.

1. Introduction I. General II. Outlook III. Scope IV. Use2 The Conventional View I. A Debate: A Comment on Style II. The View III. An Account of the Law IV. Two Specific Difficulties with the Conventional View V. Conclusion 3 The Grounds of Liability I. Finding the Ground II. Examining the Ground III. The Structure of Analysis IV. The Case Law 4 Illustrations of the General Principle I. The Rule of Give and Take, Live and Let Live II. The Location III. The Sensitivity of the Claimant IV. The Duration of the Interference V. Isolated Events5 The Activity I. The Description of the Parties' Activities II. The Malice Doctrine6 Coming to a Nuisance I. Bliss v Hall II. Sturges v BridgmanIII. Miller v Jackson IV. Kennaway v Thompson V. Why 'Who Got There First?' Does Not Matter VI. Miller v Jackson Revisited 7 A Nuisance Coming to You I. Three Views II. The Traditional Law III. The Slide to Negligence IV. Criticism of the Contemporary Approach V. An Alternative Approach VI. Revisiting the Case Law 8 Fault and Foreseeability I. IntroductionII. Fault, Negligence and Foreseeability III. Foreseeability and Nuisance IV. Justifying Strict Liability 9 The Rule in Rylands v Fletcher I. The Relationship between Nuisance and Rylands v Fletcher II. The Place of Rylands v Fletcher in the Modern Law 10 The Parties I. Standing: Who Can Sue? II. Identifying the Defendant: Who Can Be Sued? 11 Statutory Authority 12 Remedies I. Injunctions II. Remoteness 13 Conclusion