One-Off Oil Spill Held Not To Represent A Continuing Nuisance

In the recent decision of Jalla and another v. Shell International Trading and Shipping Co Ltd and another,¹ the UK Supreme Court held that a one-off oil spill did not represent a continuing nuisance regardless of the continued presence of the oil on the claimants' land.

Background

This case concerned an oil spill which occurred off the coast of Nigeria in December 2011, in which an estimated 40,000 barrels of crude oil leaked over a period of 6 hours.

The claimants, Mr Jalla and Mr Chujor, are Nigerian citizens. They brought a claim in the tort of private nuisance for undue interference with the use and enjoyment of their land, which they alleged had been severely impacted by the oil spill. The defendants were companies in the Shell group.