Atkin vs Brightman
Lord Atkin's "neighbour" principle
“You must take reasonable care to avoid acts or omissions which you can reasonably foresee would be likely to injure your neighbour. Who, then, in law, is my neighbour? The answer seems to be — persons who are so closely and directly affected by my act that I ought reasonably to have them in contemplation as being so affected when I am directing my mind to the acts or omissions that are called in question”
In 1990, the case of Caparo Industries v. Dickman was decided by the House of Lord. Many commentaries have suggested that Caparo has now “narrowed” the famous dicta by Atkin.
In Caparo Industries v. Dickman [1990] 2 AC 605, the House of Lords established what is known as the "three-fold test",
duty of care to another is established by:-
·the harm must be a "reasonably foreseeable" result of the defendant's conduct
·a relationship of "proximity" between the defendant and the claimant
·it must be "fair, just and reasonable" to impose liability
The "three stage" test was first formulated by Bingham LJ
