CASES
HUMAN RIGHTS/NUISANCE. On 4 December, in Marcic v Thames Water Utilities Ltd, the House of Lords decided, in an action for damage caused by flooding from overloaded sewers, that private remedies under nuisance law or breaches of the Human Rights Act 1998 have no part to play.
Mr Marcic, a homeowner, had suffered repeated and serious flooding from an overloaded public sewerage system since 1992. He claimed against Thames Water (which was the statutory sewerage undertaker for the relevant area) in common law nuisance and under the Human Rights Act 1998, alleging that Thames Water as a public authority had acted incompatibly with his Convention rights under Article 8 (respect for family life and home) and Article 1 of the first protocol (protection of property).
