Private nuisance:Private nuisance was defined in Bamford v Turnley, where George Wilshere, 1st Baron Bramwell defined it as "any continuous activity or state of affairs causing a substantial and unreasonable interference with a [claimant's] land or his use or enjoyment of that land". Private nuisance, unlike public nuisance, is only a tort, and damages for personal injuries are not recoverable. Only those who have a legal interest in the affected land can sue; an exception was made in Khorasandjian v Bush, where the Court of Appeal held that a woman living in her mother's house was entitled to an injunction to prevent telephone harassment despite having no legal interest in the property. In Hunter v Canary Wharf Ltd, however, the House of Lords rejected this development, arguing that to remove the need for an interest in the affected property would transform the tort of nuisance from a tort to land into a tort to the person. The liable party under private nuisance is the creator, even if he is no longer in occupation of the land or created a nuisance on somebody else's land. In Sedleigh-Denfield v O'Callaghan, it was held that the defendant was liable for a nuisance (a set of water pipes) even though he had not created it because he had used the pipes and thereby "adopted" the nuisance.
There is a general rule that a landlord who leases a property is not liable for nuisances created after the occupier takes control of the land. There is an exception where the lease is granted for a purpose which constitutes a nuisance, as in Tetley v Chitty, or where the nuisance is caused by their failure to repair the premises, as in Wringe v Cohen. The landlord is also liable where the nuisance existed before the land was let, and he knew or ought to have known about it. Under the principle of vicarious liability, an occupier of land can also be liable for the actions of their employees; in Matania v National Provincial Bank, it was also established that they could be liable for the activities of independent contractors under certain circumstances.
For there to be a claim in private nuisance, the claimant must show that the defendant's actions caused damage. This can be physical damage, as in St Helen's Smelting Co v Tipping, or discomfort and inconvenience. The test for remoteness of damage in nuisance is reasonable foreseeability, as established in Cambridge Water Co Ltd v Eastern Counties Leather plc; if the defendant was using their land unreasonably and causing a nuisance, the defendant is liable even if they used reasonable care to avoid creating a nuisance. The test is whether or not the nuisance was reasonably foreseeable; if it was, the defendant is expected to avoid it.
Public nuisance:Public nuisance concerns protecting the public, unlike private nuisance, which protects an individual. As such it is not only a tort but also a crime. In Attorney-General v PYA Quarries Ltd, it was defined by Romer LJ as any act or omission "which materially affects the reasonable comfort and convenience of life of a class of Her Majesty's subjects". Because of the wide definition given, there are a large range of issues which can be dealt with through public nuisance, including picketing on a road, as in Thomas v NUM,] blocking a canal, as in Rose v Miles, or disrupting traffic by queuing in a road, as in Lyons v Gulliver. A significant difference between private and public nuisance is that under public, one can claim for personal injuries as well as damage to property. Another difference is that public nuisance is primarily a crime; it only becomes a tort if the claimant can prove that they suffered "special damage" over and above the effects on the other affected people in the "class". The test for the required size of a "class" was also discussed in Attorney-General v PYA Quarries Ltd, with the court concluding that the test was whether the nuisance was "so widespread in its range or so indiscriminate in its effect that it would not be reasonable to expect one person to take proceedings on his own responsibility to put a stop to it, but that it should be taken on the responsibility of the community at large".
Because public nuisance is primarily a criminal matter and affects a "class" of people rather than an individual, claims are normally brought by the Attorney General for England and Wales as a "relator", representing the affected people. Other members of the affected class are allowed to sue individually, but only if they have suffered "special damage".The potential defendants in public nuisance claims are the same as those in private nuisance, with their liability dependent on a test of reasonableness; in public nuisance, however, this is determined by looking solely at the interference, not the defendant's actions.
Source:
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Nuisance_in_English_law
