Case Alert - [2018] EWCA Civ 1514
Court of Appeal rules on a private nuisance claim arising from
encroachment of Japanese knotweed – of possible interest to
liability insurers
The claimants brought claims in private nuisance after Japanese
knotweed spread from their neighbour's land onto their land.
The Japanese knotweed had not caused any physical damage to the
claimants' properties, or any change in the soil structure on
their land. However, the value of properties affected by Japanese
knotweed can be reduced.
The claimants presented their private nuisance claims in two
ways: 1) an "encroachment claim" (ie the neighbour was
liable because the Japanese knotweed had spread to their land (even
though there was no damage); and 2) a "quiet enjoyment/loss of
amenity claim". The recorder at first instance held that the
encroachment claim failed, because of the lack of physical damage
to the claimant's property, but the quiet enjoyment claim
succeeded. On
