P was in a car accident at a dangerous point in the road and sued R for negligence saying that it (the highway authority) should have painted a “slow” sign in the road so as to prevent accidents. HL said there was no duty of care since the statutory duty to “maintain the highway” did not give rise to a duty of care or private enforcement.
Lord Hoffmann: to infer a private duty of care from a statutory duty the public authority must have ‘assumed responsibility’ for the subject in question and there must be universal reliance.
Lord Hutton: To infer a private duty from a public one, it is necessary to look at parliament’s intent and whether the statute affords protection to a limited or limitless class of people.
