Strict liability

In criminal and civil law, strict liability is a standard of liability under which a person is legally responsible for the consequences flowing from an activity even in the absence of fault or criminal intent on the part of the defendant.^[1]

Under the strict liability law, if the defendant possesses anything that is inherently dangerous, as specified under the "ultrahazardous" definition, the defendant is then strictly liable for any damages caused by such possession, no matter how careful the defendant is safeguarding them.^[2]

In the field of torts, prominent examples of strict liability may include product liability, abnormally dangerous activities (e.g., blasting), intrusion onto another's land by livestock, and ownership of wild animals.^[3]

Other than activities specified above (like ownership of wild animals, etc), US courts have historically considered the following activities as "ultrahazardous":^[4]

storing flammable liquids in quantity in an urban area
pile driving
blasting
crop dusting
fumigation with cyanide gas
emission of noxious fumes by a manufacturing plant located in a settled area
locating oil wells or refineries in populated communities
test firing solid-fuel rocket motors.^[5]

On the other hand, US courts typically rule the following activities as not "ultrahazardous": parachuting, drunk driving, maintaining power lines, and letting water escape from an irrigation ditch.^[6]

In the English system, in reality, responsibility is tailored to the evidentiary system: that is, to the admissibility of defenses and excuses capable of neutralizing the punishability of the actus reus; and therefore the different forms of strict liability can be differentiated according to the defenses allowed by the individual legal systems.^[7]

^ Gray, Anthony (2021-02-25). The Evolution from Strict Liability to Fault in the Law of Torts. Bloomsbury Publishing. ISBN 978-1-5099-4100-1.
^ Best, Arthur; Barnes, David W.; Kahn-Fogel, Nicholas (2018-02-13). Basic Tort Law: Cases, Statutes, and Problems: Cases, Statutes, and Problems. Aspen Publishing. ISBN 978-1-4548-9763-7.
^ Hylton, Keith N. (2016-06-06). Tort Law: A Modern Perspective. Cambridge University Press. ISBN 978-1-107-12532-2.
^ Emanuel, Steven L. (2024-01-26). Emanuel Law Outlines for Torts. Aspen Publishing. ISBN 978-1-5438-0757-8.
^ Wagner, Gerhard (2005-10-27). Tort Law and Liability Insurance. Taylor & Francis. ISBN 978-3-211-24482-1.
^ Baldwin, Scott; Jr, Francis H. Hare; McGovern, Francis E. (2012-12-13). Product Liability Case Digest, 2013-2014 Edition. Wolters Kluwer. ISBN 978-1-4548-0984-5.
^ Licci, Giorgio (2014-03-14). Modelli nel diritto penale: Filogenesi del linguaggio penalistico. II edizione (in Italian). Giappichelli. ISBN 978-88-348-4731-2.

[1] Gray, Anthony (2021-02-25). The Evolution from Strict Liability to Fault in the Law of Torts. Bloomsbury Publishing. ISBN 978-1-5099-4100-1.

[2] Best, Arthur; Barnes, David W.; Kahn-Fogel, Nicholas (2018-02-13). Basic Tort Law: Cases, Statutes, and Problems: Cases, Statutes, and Problems. Aspen Publishing. ISBN 978-1-4548-9763-7.

[3] Hylton, Keith N. (2016-06-06). Tort Law: A Modern Perspective. Cambridge University Press. ISBN 978-1-107-12532-2.

[4] Emanuel, Steven L. (2024-01-26). Emanuel Law Outlines for Torts. Aspen Publishing. ISBN 978-1-5438-0757-8.

[5] Wagner, Gerhard (2005-10-27). Tort Law and Liability Insurance. Taylor & Francis. ISBN 978-3-211-24482-1.

[6] Baldwin, Scott; Jr, Francis H. Hare; McGovern, Francis E. (2012-12-13). Product Liability Case Digest, 2013-2014 Edition. Wolters Kluwer. ISBN 978-1-4548-0984-5.

[7] Licci, Giorgio (2014-03-14). Modelli nel diritto penale: Filogenesi del linguaggio penalistico. II edizione (in Italian). Giappichelli. ISBN 978-88-348-4731-2.

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