Please excuse the cross-posting. I have been researching an issue
involving the development of tort law and am hoping that someone can
provide some assistance. It involves the law of negligence and varying
degrees of the duty of care owed by the occupier of land to visitors
divided into the categories trespassers, licensees and invitees. I am
looking for a more in-depth discussion of this statement:
The law relating to responsibility on dangerous premises long resisted
the pervasive trend of measuring the existence and scope of duties of
care by the broad standards of foreseeability of harm and reasonable
conduct. Until well into the middle of the nineteenth century the
prominence and social prestige attached to landholding defied all
serious challenge to the claim by occupiers to be left free to in the
enjoyment and exploitation of the demesne without subordination to the
interest of the general public.
John G. Fleming, An Introduction to the Law of Torts 68 (1985).
The professor who asked me to research this issue thinks that the
in-depth discussion would appear in a treatise on the history of English
law and not a treatise on tort law, periodical article or case law. We
have several treaties on the history of English law, including
Holdsworth, William S., A history of English law, 7th ed.; edited by
A.L. Goodhart and H.G. Hanbury (1956-1966) and Fifoot, C. H. S., History
and sources of the common law: tort and contract (1949). I could not
find anything in these treatises.
I have also looked in Blackstone, Commentaries; Stephen's Commentaries
on the Laws of England and various treatises on tort law: Fleming,
Salmond, and Clerk & Lindsell. When I have found some discussion of
this, it is usually under the index entry "occupier". I have also been
able to find relevant materials using the table of contents under the
broad category "negligence" and the sub-category "duty of care".
I would be very grateful if anyone has any suggestions on new ways to
approach this project or sources that would contain this in-depth
discussion. Thank you.
Don Buffaloe
Senior Research Services Librarian
Pepperdine University School of Law
24255 Pacific Coast Hwy.
Malibu CA 90263
E-mail: Donald.Buffaloe@pepperdine.edu
Telephone: (310) 506-4823 Fax: (310) 506-4836
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