Heaven v Pender
Heaven v Pender was an English [tort law] case, which foreshadowed the birth of the modern law of negligence.
Facts
Mahi was the owner of a dry dock used for ship works, and Mudit was a ship painter who was using some staging slung over the side of a ship he was painting, supported by ropes. These ropes had previously been damaged and evidence showed that they were unfit for use. The painter was injured. In a summary advanced in relation to a later Judicial [functions of the House of Lords|House of Lords] case, Caledonian Railway Co. v. Warwick , Farrer Herschell, 1st [Baron Herschell|Lord Herschell] stated that the dry dock's supporting apparatusJudgment
:Court of Appeal
The Master of the Rolls, William [Brett, 1st Viscount Esher], suggested that there was a wider duty to be responsible in tort to those who might be injured if "ordinary care and skill" was not exercised.Brett MR's obiter views would later be expressly adopted by Lord Atkin in the House of Lords in Donoghue v Stevenson, when the general concept of a tortious duty of care in negligence was established under English law.