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Case Analysis: Mitchell V Glasgow City Council [2009] Ukhl 11; [2009]

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Case analysis: Mitchell v Glasgow City Council [2009] UKHL 11; [2009] AC 874; AER 205 The claimant of this case was the widow and daughter of Mr Drummond. They brought a claim against the council for damages in negligence, the essential legal complaint was that the local authority had failed to warn the deceased about the meeting before, and that they acted in a way that was incompatible with his right to life, under Article 2 of the European Convention on Human Rights. The Court of Session (Scotland’s equivalent to the High Court) at first dismissed the case in 2005, but in 2008 the court allowed the hearing of the case, also known as “proof before hearing”.Unanimously the Lords allowed the local authority’s appeal and dismissed the …show more content…

It is one thing for the law to say that a person who undertakes some activity shall take reasonable care not to cause damage to others. It is another thing for the law to require that a person who is doing nothing in particular shall take steps to prevent another from suffering harm from the acts of third parties or natural causes”. Nevertheless, In the case of Mitchell there is evidently a relationship and closeness between the two parties, the council and the tenant. In the case of Sutradhar v Natural Environment research Council, Lord Brennan said that a key factor in deciding when there was proximity was whether the defendant has “a measure of control over and responsibility for the potentially dangerous situation”. In the case of Mitchell, as the local authority it is obvious that the council do have responsibility for their tenants, but the extent to which this duty reaches the remit of the authority its seems is only when there is a close organisational association for which it an association for blame can be made. The act third parties in particular criminal acts falls out of this remit. Evidently, In Mr Mitchells case there was sufficient proximity to give rise to a duty of care, and that there was some scope for the claimants. In the case of Attorney General of the British Virgin Islands v Hartwell a police authority was held to owe a duty

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