Bolton v. Stone

[1951] A.C. 850 (1951)

Study Aids
Case Briefs Overview
Casebooks
Case Briefs
B
From our private database of 46,300+ case briefs, written and edited by humans—never with AI.

Bolton v. Stone

House of Lords
[1951] A.C. 850 (1951)

Play video

Facts

Bessie Stone (plaintiff) lived on Beckenham Road near a cricket ground owned by Bolton (defendant). One day, she was walking in her yard and was hit on the head and injured by a stray ball hit by a visiting player on the cricket ground. Stone sued Bolton on theories that the cricket ground constituted a public nuisance, and that the ground’s owners acted with common law negligence. At trial, witnesses testified that in the 30 years of the ground’s operation prior to the incident, only six or seven balls had been hit onto Beckenham Road. Additionally, the ground was surrounded by 17 feet of fence rising above the road. The trial court held for Bolton on both of Stone’s claims. The appellate court reversed on the negligence claim. Bolton appealed to the House of Lords.

Rule of Law

Issue

Holding and Reasoning (Lord Reid)

What to do next…

  1. Unlock this case brief with a free (no-commitment) trial membership of Quimbee.

    You’ll be in good company: Quimbee is one of the most widely used and trusted sites for law students, serving more than 810,000 law students since 2011. Some law schools—such as Yale, Berkeley, and Northwestern—even subscribe directly to Quimbee for all their law students.

    Unlock this case briefRead our student testimonials

  2. Learn more about Quimbee’s unique (and proven) approach to achieving great grades at law school.

    Quimbee is a company hell-bent on one thing: helping you get an “A” in every course you take in law school, so you can graduate at the top of your class and get a high-paying law job. We’re not just a study aid for law students; we’re the study aid for law students.

    Learn about our approachRead more about Quimbee

Here's why 810,000 law students have relied on our case briefs:

  • Written by law professors and practitioners, not other law students. 46,300 briefs, keyed to 988 casebooks. Top-notch customer support.
  • The right amount of information, includes the facts, issues, rule of law, holding and reasoning, and any concurrences and dissents.
  • Access in your classes, works on your mobile and tablet. Massive library of related video lessons and high quality multiple-choice questions.
  • Easy to use, uniform format for every case brief. Written in plain English, not in legalese. Our briefs summarize and simplify; they don’t just repeat the court’s language.

Access this case brief for FREE

With a 7-day free trial membership
Here's why 810,000 law students have relied on our case briefs:
  • Reliable - written by law professors and practitioners, not other law students
  • The right length and amount of information - includes the facts, issue, rule of law, holding and reasoning, and any concurrences and dissents
  • Access in your class - works on your mobile and tablet
  • 46,300 briefs - keyed to 988 casebooks
  • Uniform format for every case brief
  • Written in plain English - not in legalese and not just repeating the court's language
  • Massive library of related video lessons - and practice questions
  • Top-notch customer support

Access this case brief for FREE

With a 7-day free trial membership

Casebooks

Torts

Key Terms