Law Cases > Tort Law Cases > Private Nuisance Cases

Allen v Gulf Oil

[1981] AC 1001

Case summary last updated at 19/01/2020 16:32 by the Oxbridge Notes in-house law team.

Judgement for the case Allen v Gulf Oil

An act of parliament allowed D to build an oil refinery which caused offensive noise, smell and vibrations to P’s property. However HL held that since the activity was sanctioned by an act of parliament, it could not constitute a nuisance. (NB this doesn’t extend to the decisions of planning authorities- see Wheeler above).

Lord Wilberforce: The basis for this rule is that parliament has performed the exercise fo weighing up public and private interest and made a decision on that basis.

Have you seen Oxbridge Notes' best Tort Law study materials?

Our law notes have been a popular underground sensation for 10 years:

Written by Oxford & Cambridge prize-winning graduates
Includes copious academic commentary in summary form
Concise structure relating cases and statutes into an easy-to-remember whole
Covers all major cases for LLB exams
Satisfaction guaranteed refund policy
Recently updated

Tort Law Notes >>

Tort Law Notes