Problem Type Question

1) Neo and Trinity are scientists who share a flat, No 1, on the ground floor of an apartment building. Neither of them owns a car, but their apartment has a parking space assigned to it. Trinity rented the flat first, and Neo subsequently moved in with him. When Neo moved into the flat, he agreed to sign a 'Roommate Agreement', which sets out the terms under which he is allowed to live there. One provision is that, if Neo fails to observe certain rules, Trinity is entitled to lock Neo in his bedroom as punishment for an entire weekend. Last weekend, Neo broke one of the rules and Trinity enforced the punishment clause. Neo used his bedroom window to come and go without Trinity knowing.

Morpheus has recently moved into the same building as Neo and Trinity, in flat No 4. Morpheus owns a motorcycle, and, rather than parking it in his assigned space, he decides to park it in Neo and Trinity's space, so that he can chain it to a lamppost. He parks it in their space for the first time on Sunday. Trinity notices that the motorcycle has appeared in their space, but does not know who owns it. He therefore writes the following note:

'Your bike is in my spot. You cannot park it there. Remove it immediately.'

Morpheus sees the note when he returns home on Monday evening. He picks it up and reads it but, believing that the note is unnecessarily rude, does not remove the motorcycle. On Tuesday, Trinity sees that the note has been removed, but that the motorbike remains. Trinity therefore writes another note:

'Your bike is still in my spot. Remove it. Or else.'

In December, Neo and Trinity host a Christmas party in their apartment. They invite their friends Jones, Spoon, Tank and Penny. Penny is Tank's girlfriend and Spoon is Neo's girlfriend: both women are blonde. At the party, Switch, one of Neo's colleagues, walks past Penny, brushing his hand against her arm. He does the same thing two more times. On each occasion, Penny shouts 'Stop it!' Later in the evening, Switch sees a blonde woman standing under some mistletoe. Thinking that it is Penny, he goes up behind her and whispers in her ear, 'Are you sure you don't fancy a kiss?' The woman is actually Spoon, who jumps with surprise. She turns around and tries to throw her drink at Switch: however, Switch ducks out of the way and the liquid lands on Jones.

Tank goes up to Switch and shakes his fist, saying 'If you had kissed my girlfriend, I would have punched you.'

Advise the parties as to any potential tort liabilities under the Tort of Trespass to Person arising from these facts. {50 point}

Essay Question

2) Outline the key changes introduced by the Defamation Act 2013. What are the key differences between absolute privilege, qualified privilege and the new public interest defense? {25point}

3) Does the action under Rylands v Fletcher serve any useful purpose in the modern day?