Oxford FHS Tort: the starred cases
Every case the Faculty stars as core on the 2026-27 FHS Tort list, in the list's own topic order, with a free brief for each: ratio, the judgments, key reasoning, how the case fits the module and the leading criticisms. Oxford material on Caselaw is free for everyone, with no sign-up.
The briefs are written with AI from each case's name, citation and general legal knowledge (never from the judgment text), with no quotations or paragraph pinpoints. 23 of these judgments are on Find Case Law, linked from each page; the rest (mostly pre-2001 and House of Lords) are not, so read the report.
Omissions, acts of third parties and public authorities
- Michael v Chief Constable of South Wales Police [2015] UKSC 2, [2015] AC 1732★
- Gorringe v Calderdale Metropolitan Borough Council [2004] UKHL 15, [2004] 1 WLR 1057★
- Poole Borough Council v GN [2019] UKSC 25, [2020] AC 780★
- Tindall v Chief Constable of Thames Valley Police [2024] UKSC 33, [2025] AC 1046★
General
- Robinson v Chief Constable of West Yorkshire Police [2018] UKSC 4, [2018] AC 736★
- Donoghue v Stevenson [1932] AC 562★
- Caparo Industries plc v Dickman [1990] 2 AC 605★
Negligent statements and provision of services
- Caparo Industries plc v Dickman [1990] 2 AC 605★
- Hedley Byrne and Co Ltd v Heller and Partners Ltd [1964] AC 465★
- Smith v Eric S Bush [1990] 1 AC 831★
- Henderson v Merrett Syndicates Ltd [1995] 2 AC 145★
Psychiatric Injury
- McLoughlin v O'Brian [1983] 1 AC 410★
- Alcock v Chief Constable of South Yorkshire Police [1992] 1 AC 310★
- Page v Smith [1996] AC 155★
- White v Chief Constable of South Yorkshire Police [1999] 2 AC 455★
- Paul v Royal Wolverhampton NHS Trust [2024] UKSC 1, [2025] AC 459★
Congenital Disabilities (Civil Liability) Act 1976
- McFarlane v Tayside Health Board [2000] 2 AC 59★
- Parkinson v St James and Seacroft University Hospital NHS Trust [2001] EWCA Civ 530, [2002] QB 266★
- Rees v Darlington Memorial Hospital NHS Trust [2003] UKHL 52, [2004] 1 AC 309★
Social Action, Responsibility and Heroism Act 2015
- Bolton v Stone [1951] AC 850★
- Paris v Stepney Borough Council [1951] AC 367★
- Bolam v Friern Hospital Management Committee [1957] 1 WLR 582★
- Overseas Tankship (UK) Ltd v Miller Steamship Co Pty (The Wagon Mound (No 2)) [1967] 1 AC 617★
- Nettleship v Weston [1971] 2 QB 691★
- Montgomery v Lanarkshire Health Board [2015] UKSC 11, [2015] 1 AC 1430★
- Mullin v Richards [1998] 1 All ER 920★
Damage
- Rothwell v Chemical and Insulating Co Ltd [2007] UKHL 39, [2008] 1 AC 281★
- Dryden v Johnson Matthey plc [2018] UKSC 18, [2019] AC 403★
Factual causation
- Allied Maples Group Ltd v Simmons & Simmons [1995] 1 WLR 1602★
- Gregg v Scott [2005] UKHL 2, [2005] 2 AC 176★
- Fairchild v Glenhaven Funeral Services Ltd [2002] UKHL 22, [2003] 1 AC 32★
Legal Causation
- Corr v IBC Vehicles Ltd [2008] UKHL 13, [2008] 1 AC 884★
Remoteness
- Overseas Tankship (UK) Ltd v Morts Dock and Engineering Co Ltd (The Wagon Mound (No 1)) [1961] AC 388★
- Smith v Leech Brain and Co Ltd [1962] 2 QB 405★
- Hughes v Lord Advocate [1963] AC 837★
- Wellesley Partners LLP v Withers LLP [2015] EWCA Civ 1146, [2016] 2 WLR 1351★
Damages and causation
- Baker v Willoughby [1970] AC 467★
- Jobling v Associated Dairies Ltd [1982] AC 794★
Negligent damage to property
- Spartan Steel and Alloys Ltd v Martin and Co (Contractors) Ltd [1973] QB 27★
- Leigh and Sillivan Ltd v Aliakmon Shipping Co Ltd (The Aliakmon) [1986] 1 AC 785★
- Murphy v Brentwood District Council [1991] 1 AC 398★
Relationship to Contract
- Robinson v PE Jones (Contractors) Ltd [2011] EWCA Civ 9, [2012] QB 44★
Contributory Negligence
- Jones v Livox Quarries Ltd [1952] 2 QB 608★
- Froom v Butcher [1976] QB 286★
- Reeves v Commissioner of Police of the Metropolis [2000] 1 AC 360★
Exclusion and Volenti non fit injuria
- Morris v Murray [1991] 2 QB 6★
Illegality
- Gray v Thames Trains Ltd [2009] UKHL 33, [2009] 1 AC 1339★
- Henderson v Dorset Healthcare University NHS Foundation Trust [2020] UKSC 43, [2021] AC 563★
To visitors
- Roles v Nathan [1963] 1 WLR 1117★
- Wheat v E Lacon & Co Ltd [1966] AC 552★
- White v Blackmore [1972] 2 QB 651★
To non-visitors
- Tomlinson v Congleton Borough Council [2004] UKHL 47, [2004] 1 AC 46★
F. PRIVATE NUISANCE AND TRESPASS TO LAND
- St Helen's Smelting Co v Tipping (1865) 11 HLC 642★
- Cambridge Water Co v Eastern Counties Leather plc [1994] 2 AC 264★
- Hunter v Canary Wharf Ltd [1997] AC 655★
- Coventry v Lawrence [2014] UKSC 13, [2014] AC 822★
- Fearn v Board of Trustees of the Tate Gallery [2023] UKSC 4, [2024] AC 1★
Remedies in property torts
- Hunter v Canary Wharf Ltd [1997] AC 655★
- The Mediana (Owners of the Mediana v Owners of the Lightship Comet) [1900] AC 113★
- Lagden v O'Connor [2003] UKHL 64, [2004] 1 AC 1067★
Who is liable?
- Sedleigh-Denfield v O'Callaghan [1940] AC 880★
- Leakey v National Trust for Places of Historic Interest or Natural Beauty [1980] 1 QB 485★
- Holbeck Hall Hotel Ltd v Scarborough Borough Council [2000] 2 All ER 705★
Police, Crime, Sentencing, and Courts Act 2022, s 78
- Attorney-General v PYA Quarries Ltd [1957] 2 QB 169★
- Corby Group Litigation v Corby Borough Council [2008] EWCA Civ 463, [2009] QB 335★
H. THE RULE IN RYLANDS V FLETCHER
- Rylands v Fletcher [1866] LR 1, [1868] LR 3★
- Transco plc v Stockport Metropolitan Borough Council [2003] UKHL 61, [2004] 2 AC 1★
- Rubis Bahamas Ltd v Lillian Antoinette Russell (The Bahamas) [2026] UKPC 9★not republished here
Strict Liability
- A v National Blood Authority [2001] EWHC 446 (QB), [2001] 3 All ER 289★
- Wilkes v DePuy International Ltd [2016] EWHC 3096 (QB), [2018] QB 627★
Employment and relationships akin to employment
- Various Claimants v Catholic Child Welfare Society [2012] UKSC 56, [2013] 2 AC 1★
- Cox v Ministry of Justice [2016] UKSC 10, [2016] AC 660★
- Barclays Bank plc v Various Claimants [2020] UKSC 13, [2020] AC 973★
Course of employment
- Lister v Hesley Hall Ltd [2001] UKHL 22, [2002] 1 AC 215★
- Mohamud v WM Morrison Supermarkets plc [2016] UKSC 11, [2016] AC 677★
- WM Morrison Supermarkets plc v Various Claimants [2020] UKSC 12, [2020] AC 989★
Non-delegable duties
- Biffa Waste Services Ltd v Maschinenfabrik Ernst Hese GmbH [2008] EWCA Civ 1257, [2009] QB 725★
- Woodland v Essex County Council [2013] UKSC 66, [2014] AC 537★
Who can sue?
- Derbyshire County Council v Times Newspapers Ltd [1993] AC 534★
Defamation and Freedom of Speech
- Derbyshire County Council v Times Newspapers Ltd [1993] AC 534★
- Reynolds v Times Newspapers Ltd [2001] 2 AC 127★
What is defamatory?
- Cassidy v Daily Mirror Newspapers Ltd [1929] 2 KB 331★
Defamation Act 1952, s 5
- London Artists Ltd v Littler [1969] 2 QB 375★
Defamation Act 2013, s 6
- Horrocks v Lowe [1975] AC 135★
Defamation Act 1996, s 13
- John v MGN Ltd [1997] QB 586★
Trespass to the Person: Battery and Assault
- F v West Berkshire Health Authority (Re F (Mental Patient: Sterilisation)) [1990] 2 AC 1★
- Ashley v Chief Constable of Sussex Police [2008] UKHL 25, [2008] 1 AC 962★
Inducing a breach of Contract
- Edwin Hill and Partners v First National Finance Corporation plc [1989] 1 WLR 225★
Intimidation
- Rookes v Barnard [1964] AC 1129★
Deceit
- Derry v Peek (1889) 14 AC 337★
Punitive damages
- Kuddus v Chief Constable of Leicestershire Constabulary [2001] UKHL 29, [2002] 2 AC 122★
Administration of Justice Act 1982, s 1(1)(b)
- Heil v Rankin [2001] QB 272★
Law Reform (Personal Injuries) Act 1948, s 2(4)
- CCC v Sheffield Teaching Hospitals NHS Foundation Trust [2026] UKSC 5, [2026] 2 WLR 385★not republished here
Also free: Mods Criminal Law cases, Mods Constitutional Law cases, FHS Administrative Law cases, Oxford revision notes and FHS-style practice papers.
Judgment text comes from Find Case Law (The National Archives) under the Open Justice Licence. Case lists are the Faculty's 2026-27 lists; tutorial order varies by college. Spotted an error? Email [email protected].