Strict Liability (Abnormally Dangerous Activities)
What is the Strict Liability (Abnormally Dangerous Activities)?
A defendant who engages in abnormally dangerous activities is liable for resulting harm regardless of fault. Neither negligence nor intent must be proven — the activity itself imposes liability.
Definition
Strict liability for abnormally dangerous activities holds a defendant liable for harm caused by certain inherently dangerous activities regardless of whether the defendant exercised reasonable care. The rationale is that some activities are so dangerous that those who choose to engage in them should bear the costs of any resulting harm, even if they took every possible precaution. This doctrine emerged from the English case Rylands v. Fletcher and was adopted and refined by American courts.
The Restatement (Second) of Torts section 520 identifies six factors for determining whether an activity is abnormally dangerous: (1) high degree of risk of harm, (2) likelihood that the resulting harm will be great, (3) inability to eliminate the risk through reasonable care, (4) the activity is not a matter of common usage, (5) the activity is inappropriate for the location where it is conducted, and (6) the danger outweighs the activity's value to the community. No single factor is dispositive; courts weigh them collectively. The Restatement (Third) of Torts simplifies the test, focusing primarily on whether the activity creates a foreseeable and highly significant risk that cannot be eliminated through reasonable care.
Common examples of abnormally dangerous activities include blasting, storing large quantities of explosives or hazardous chemicals, fumigation with toxic gases, crop dusting near populated areas, and keeping wild animals. Driving a car, despite the risks involved, is considered a matter of common usage and does not qualify. The plaintiff must still prove causation and that the harm resulted from the kind of risk that made the activity abnormally dangerous. Traditional defenses such as contributory negligence do not apply, though assumption of risk may.
Key Elements
- 1The defendant engaged in an abnormally dangerous activity
- 2The activity creates a foreseeable risk of serious harm that cannot be eliminated through reasonable care
- 3The activity is not one of common usage in the community
- 4The harm resulted from the kind of risk that makes the activity abnormally dangerous
- 5The defendant caused the plaintiff's harm (causation still required)
- 6Weigh the Restatement (Second) section 520 factors or apply the Restatement (Third) test
Landmark Cases
Rylands v. Fletcher
[1868] UKHL 1, L.R. 3 H.L. 330
Established strict liability for non-natural use of land when something likely to cause mischief escapes and causes damage.
Indiana Harbor Belt R.R. Co. v. American Cyanamid Co.
916 F.2d 1174 (7th Cir. 1990)
Judge Posner held that transporting hazardous chemicals by rail was not an abnormally dangerous activity because the risk could be reduced by due care.
Spano v. Perini Corp.
25 N.Y.2d 11 (1969)
Applied strict liability to blasting operations, holding that those who engage in blasting are absolutely liable for resulting damage regardless of precautions.
Klein v. Pyrodyne Corp.
117 Wash.2d 1 (1991)
Applied strict liability to a fireworks display, analyzing the Restatement (Second) section 520 factors to find the activity abnormally dangerous.
Exam Tips
- Walk through each of the six Restatement (Second) section 520 factors when determining if an activity is abnormally dangerous.
- Remember that strict liability still requires causation — the plaintiff must show the harm resulted from the type of risk that made the activity dangerous.
- Contributory negligence is NOT a defense to strict liability for abnormally dangerous activities, but assumption of risk may be.
- Distinguish strict liability from negligence — the key is that no amount of care would relieve the defendant of liability.
Common Mistakes to Avoid
- Applying strict liability to activities of common usage — driving, for example, is dangerous but commonplace and thus analyzed under negligence.
- Forgetting that strict liability still requires the harm to flow from the type of risk that makes the activity abnormally dangerous.
- Assuming all six Restatement factors must be satisfied — courts balance them, and no single factor is required.
Memory Aid
If the activity is UNCOMMON and UNCONTROLLABLE by reasonable care, strict liability applies — no fault needed.