Aviso legal: Esto no constituye asesoramiento jurídico. La legislación y la jurisprudencia cambian. Consulte siempre con un abogado cualificado para su situación específica.

UK Law Reference
Todos los casos
Building Safety
Court of Appeal
1978

Batty v Metropolitan Property Realisations Ltd

[1978] QB 554

Ratio Decidendi

A developer owes a duty of care to purchasers in respect of the fitness of the site for building, even where the actual construction work is carried out by independent contractors.

Hechos

Houses were built on a hillside which subsequently suffered a landslip. The purchasers sued the developers for negligence in failing to ensure the site was suitable for construction.

Resumen de la sentencia

The Court of Appeal held the developers liable. They had a duty to take reasonable care to ensure the site was fit for building, and this duty could not be delegated to independent contractors.

Citas clave

"The developer who selects and develops a site owes a duty of care to the purchaser in respect of the site itself."

— Megaw LJ

Tratamiento posterior

Applied

Followed in Murphy v Brentwood and later building defect cases, though the scope of duty was narrowed.