User:The C of E/lvwbc

Lewis v Wandsworth London Borough Council is a Queen's Bench Division of the High Court of Justice of England and Wales personal injury case appeal between Phoebe Lewis and Wandsworth London Borough Council. The case involved Lewis being injured by a cricket ball being hit from a cricket match held on Battersea Park, London. After an initial finding for Lewis in the County Court, the High Court overturned and found in favour of the council.

Background
In 2014, Lewis was walking with her friend in Battersea Park on a path near a cricket pitch. A ball was hit towards Lewis and there was a verbal warning but the ball hit Lewis in the eye. Lewis sued the council on the grounds of negligence for allowing a cricket pitch near a path without signage or closing the path. The council relied on the precedence of Bolton v Stone which held that cricketers were not liable for balls hit out of play. However the Recorder distinguished this case from Bolton, arguing that the lack of signage and clearly defined boundaries for the cricket pitch was sufficient for a successful claim and awarded Lewis £16,911.84. The council appealed.

Case
At the County Court, Lewis argued that the council were liable for putting a cricket pitch close to a path with no signage or indicator of the boundary. She told the Recorder that she was a non-member of the Marylebone Cricket Club but was not aware that amateur cricket was played with a regulation hard cricket ball.

Appeal
The Council appealed to the High Court. During the case, Mr Justice Stewart found that the Recorder had made a number of errors in consideration. He ruled that because Lewis knew there was a cricket pitch there and a game might have been taking place, there was no duty to warn her via signs or otherwise. He also stated that it was reasonable to assume that men would play cricket with regulation hard balls stating "What I frankly fail to understand is how the Recorder could envisage that a cricket match played by adult men could be assumed by any reasonable passer-by to be using a soft ball. This would have been particularly so if they were wearing whites and therefore playing what would appear to be a serious match."