The 'complete control' principle
"Where the plaintiff belongs to a class which either is or ought to be within the contemplation of the defendant and the defendant by reason of his involvement in an activity which gives him a measure of control over and responsibility for a situation which, if dangerous, will be liable to injure the plaintiff, the defendant is liable if as a result of his unreasonable lack of care he causes a situation to exist which does in fact cause the plaintiff injury." Per Hobhouse LJ in Perrett v Collins [1998] 2 Lloyd's LR 255. The extent of this dictum was discussed by the House of Lords in the case of Sutradhar v. Natural Environment Research Council [2006] UKHL 33.
Categories: Chapter 19, Update