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No. 187 · Sunday 8 November 2026 · York

The Case This Week

Free, every Sunday. Leave whenever you like.

This week's issue

The case of the leaking reservoir

Who pays when water you stored spills onto a neighbour's land?

No. 187 · Nov 8, 2026 · 9 min read

Victorian courthouse in the rain with a barrister climbing the steps

In this case a landowner built a reservoir to serve his mill. A few years later the water found an old mine shaft and flooded the workings next door. He had been careful, and he had never meant any harm.

The question for the court was whether care was the right test at all. This week I go through the facts, the three questions the judges asked and the answer they gave, which is still where every first-term student starts.

Plus: your letters on last week's case, and one sentence from the judgment I think is the best in the books.

Read: The case of the leaking reservoir

Law library aisle with leather volumes and a green lamp

Tort

The case of the borrowed ladder

A neighbour lends a ladder, it gives way and someone is hurt. What did lending change, and who owed a duty to whom?

No. 186 · Nov 1, 2026 · 7 min read

Contract

The case of the unsigned contract

A handshake, a lorry of goods and two different memories of the deal. What the court counted as an agreement.

No. 185 · Oct 25, 2026 · 8 min read

Foresight

The case of the runaway cart

A short case about foresight, and how far one careless act can reach.

No. 184 · Oct 18, 2026 · 6 min read

Barrister's wig and gown hanging beside an oak door

Remedies

The case of the late delivery

What a seller must say, and when, if the goods will not arrive. The remedies in one picture.

No. 183 · Oct 11, 2026 · 7 min read

From the shop

The letter stays free. These keep it going.

The archive

Every letter since No. 1, newest first

  1. 181

    The case of the careless surveyor

    A survey, a mistake and who pays for it.

  2. 180

    The case of the shop window

    What a promise on a sign is worth.

  3. 179

    The case of the overheard offer

    When is a passing remark a proposal?

  4. 178

    The case of the injured guest

    A duty to visitors, and where it stops.

  5. 177

    The case of the second sale

    Two buyers, one cargo and a question of who came first.

  6. 176

    The case of the noisy workshop

    How much can a neighbour be asked to put up with?

  1. 175

    The case of the mistaken signature

    What if you sign something you did not read?

  2. 174

    The case of the borrowed name

    A business, a nickname and a dispute over credit.

  3. 173

    The case of the missing instalment

    What happens when one payment is late?

  4. 172

    The case of the hired horse

    Who bears the risk when an animal falls ill?

  5. 171

    The case of the promise to stay

    A promise made in good faith, and when it holds.

  6. 170

    Your questions on the first term

    You sent 90 questions about contract and tort. I answered nine.

Close portrait of Fabian in a green tweed jacket and waistcoat

Fabian Whitlock

Thirty years at the lectern, and I still prefer the library

I'm Fabian. I have lectured on contract and tort in York for thirty years, and I still think the best way into the law is one case told well.

The Case This Week began as a handout for my first-year students. It is still free, still written on Friday evening, and still one case plus whatever I could not fit.

Hands turning a page of a heavy leather law report

Next letter: Sunday 15 November

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One decided case in plain words, a few short notes and your letters. Free, and it always will be.

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