{"id":6044,"date":"2018-03-07T09:27:00","date_gmt":"2018-03-07T09:27:00","guid":{"rendered":""},"modified":"2021-09-29T11:34:33","modified_gmt":"2021-09-29T11:34:33","slug":"scott-v-shepherd","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.lawteacher.net\/cases\/scott-v-shepherd.php","title":{"rendered":"Scott v Shepherd – 1773 (Famous Squib)"},"content":{"rendered":"

Legal Case Summary<\/h2>\n

Scott v Shepherd [1773] 96 Eng. Rep. 525<\/strong><\/p>\n

Law of Tort \u2013 Causation \u2013 Novus Actus Interveniens \u2013 Remoteness of Damage \u2013 Trespass<\/p>\n

Facts<\/h3>\n

The defendant threw a squib, which is a small, lit firework, into a busy marketplace with lots of people and stalls. In order to protect themselves and avoid damage, the squib was thrown on by two other people. When it landed near to the complainant, it exploded and caused injury to his face. He later lost the use of one of his eyes. The original thrower, the defendant, was charged with assault and trespass.<\/p>\n

Issues<\/h3>\n

The defendant was found liable for trespass and he appealed this decision. The defendant argued that the injury to the complainant was not caused by his actions; it was not a direct act, as others threw the squib on. The issue in the appeal was whether the defendant throwing the squib caused the injury or whether other people broke this chain of causation and the injury was caused by novus actus interveniens.<\/p>\n

Decision\/Outcome<\/h3>\n

This case has become known as the Famous Squib<\/em><\/strong> case. The court dismissed the appeal; the injury to the complainant was the direct and unlawful act of the defendant who originally threw and intended to throw the squib. The other people were not \u2018free agents\u2019 in this situation and threw on the squib for their own safety and this was justifiable. The throwing on was classed as a continuation of the defendant\u2019s action, which was intended. Whatever followed this was part of the defendant\u2019s original act.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Scott v Shepherd has become known as the Famous Squib case. The court dismissed the appeal; the injury to the complainant was the direct and unlawful act of the defendant who originally threw and intended to throw the squib.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[2],"tags":[85],"class_list":["post-6044","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-cases","tag-uk-law"],"yoast_head":"\nScott v Shepherd - 1773 (Famous Squib) | LawTeacher.net<\/title>\n<meta name=\"description\" content=\"Scott v Shepherd has become known as the Famous Squib case. 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