Rubis Bahamas Ltd (Appellant) v Lillian Antionette Russell (Respondent) (The Bahamas)

Hearing listed

Case summary
Appeal
Change log

Case summary

Case ID

JCPC/2024/0031

Jurisdiction

Bahamas

Parties

Appellant(s)

Rubis Bahamas Ltd

Respondent(s)

Lillian Antionette Russell

Issue

(1) Can claims for unliquidated damages exceeding $4,000 give rise to appeals to the JCPC as of right under section 23(1) of the Bahamas Court of Appeal Act (the “CA Act”)? (2) Does the rule in Rylands v Fletcher impose strict liability on a landowner and lessor who neither occupies the land, nor owns or controls the dangerous thing? (3) Is the storage of fuel underground a “non-natural use of land” for the purposes of the rule in Rylands v Fletcher?

Facts

In approximately 2012/13, a leak occurred from underground fuel tanks at a service station in Nassau (the “2012/13 Leak”). The service station was owned by the appellant, Rubis, but had been leased to a third party called Fiorente Management and Investment Limited (“Fiorente”). The respondent, Ms Russell, lived on a property adjacent to the service station at the time of the 2012/13 Leak. In 2015, Ms Russell brought a claim against Rubis alleging that the 2012/13 Leak, together with another leak that had occurred in 1994 (the “1994 Leak”), had caused damage to her property. Ms Russell claimed against Rubis for negligence, trespass and nuisance in respect of both the 1994 and 2012/13 Leaks. Ms Russell also claimed that Rubis was liable for the 2012/13 Leak under the rule in Rylands v Fletcher, which provides that a person may be held strictly liable for bringing or keeping on their land something dangerous that escapes and causes damage to a neighbour’s property. The Bahamas Supreme Court held that Rubis was liable to Ms Russell in respect of both the 2012/13 and 1994 Leaks. The Bahamas Court of Appeal partially allowed Rubis’s subsequent appeal. It found that Rubis was not liable for damage caused by the 1994 Leak, but was liable for the 2012/13 Leak, including pursuant to the rule in Rylands v Fletcher (the “Substantive Judgment”). In February 2024, the Bahamas Court of Appeal dismissed Rubis’s application to appeal the Substantive Judgment to the Judicial Committee of the Privy Council (the “PTA Judgment”). Rubis now seeks leave to appeal from the Judicial Committee itself. This is a hearing of the preliminary issue whether this is an appeal as of right. Date of issue