Nuisance is one of the oldest and most interesting in the law of torts. It developed early in the common law to protect a person’s interest in land. The emergence and rise of the modern tort of negligence has posed a challenge to the precise scope and relevance of the tort of nuisance. An action in nuisance covers conduct of the defendant that is excessive, substantial, and unreasonable, which interferes with the plaintiff’s use and enjoyment of his or her land. Nuisance covers both physical and non-physical damage.

There are two types of nuisance: private nuisance and public nuisance.

Since liability in nuisance is strict, the defendant must establish his or her defence, once a prima facie case has been established. A defendant is only liable for a harm that is foreseeable; thus, foreseeability is essential to establish the tort of nuisance. The tort of nuisance protects the pleasure, comfort and enjoyment derived by a plaintiff in the occupancy and use of both public and private rights in land. This chapter considers the elements of each tort.

This introduction acquaints the reader with traditional concepts of private and public nuisance law, the determination of liability for a nuisiance, and the conventional remedies for public nuisance of abatement and injunctions. After setting forth basic concepts concerning nuisiance law, the introduction discusses the emergence of public nuisiance as a legal claim in 21st century mass tort litigation. It describes the theoretical basis for public nusiance claims in mass tort cases and introduces statutory public nuisance statutes. The introduction analyzes the relationship of public nuisance to traditional tort theories. The introduction concludes with a roadmap for the ensuing chapters, tracing the historical basis for public nuisance jurisprudence, early judicial rejection of public nuisance claims, evolution and expansion of public nuisance claims to environmental and products cases, and issues relating to pleading, defenses, and remedies.