Meggs v Liverpool Corporation
| Jurisdiction | England & Wales |
| Judge | THE MASTER OF THE ROLLS,LORD JUSTICE SALMON,LORD JUSTICE WINN |
| Judgment Date | 27 June 1967 |
| Judgment citation (vLex) | [1967] EWCA Civ J0627-1 |
| Court | Court of Appeal (Civil Division) |
| Date | 27 June 1967 |
[1967] EWCA Civ J0627-1
In The Supreme Court of Judicature
The Court of Appeal
Civil Division.
From the Presiding Judge, Liverpool Court of Passage
The Master of The Rolls
(Lord Denning)
Lord Justice Salmon and
Lord Justice Winn
MR J. EDWARD JONES (instructed by Messrs Bower, Cotton & Bower, Agents for Mr S. B. Levin) appeared as Counsel for the Appellant.
MR MORRIS JONES (instructed by Mr T. Alker, Town Clerk, Liverpool) appeared as Counsel for the Respondents.
We need not trouoie you, Mr Morris Jones.
In this case Mrs Meggs, a widow of 74 years of age, who lives in Mill Lane, Liverpool, at 10 o'clock at night went to get some lemonade for her daughter. She walked along the High Street which is a busy road. There was a pavement 16 to 22 ft. wide. As she went along she tripped. She tripped because the flagstones were uneven. They had sunk in different places: so much so that one of them had sunk about three-quarters of an inch. She tripped and fell and hurt herself. She had some cuts and was shaken up. She went to the doctor that very evening. She reported it to the police. The police reported it to the Highway authority, the Corporation. A few days later the Corporation came and levelled the flagstones and thenceforward the pavement was reasonably level. She brought this action for damages against the Corporation complaining of the condition of the pavement.
In the old days there would have been a simple answer to this claim. A Highway Authority was not liable for the bad state of a highway if it was due to neafeasance, that is, not doing any repairs. A Highway Authority was only liable for misfeasance, that is, doing things badly. That distinction was criticised for years: and in 1961 it was abolished by Section 1 of the Highways Act 1961.
What is the effect of the abolition? It means that the Highway Authority are under a duty to maintain the highway and keep it in repair. If it is in a dangerous condition so that it is not reasonably safe for people going along it, then prima facie there is a breach of the obligation to maintain and keep it in repair: and any person who suffers particular damage on account of it can bring an action against the Highway Authority. But the Highway Authority can escape liability if they prove that they took all reasonable care to see that it was safe, having regard to the various matters set out in the statute, see Sections 1(2) and 1(3) of the Highways Act 1961. Atthe outset, however, in order to make a prima facie case, the plaintiff must show that the highway was not reasonably safe, i.e. that it...
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