Distinguish private nuisance from public nuisance.

• A. Private nuisance affects the general public.
• B. Public nuisance requires special damages.
• C. Private nuisance requires special damages.
• D. Public nuisance is an unreasonable interference with use of land.

Answer: (C)

Distinguishing private from public nuisance hinges on whose rights are being protected and what damages rule applies.

Private nuisance deals with an unreasonable interference with one person’s use or enjoyment of their land. The action is based on the impact on the individual’s rights in land, and you can sue if the interference is substantial and unreasonable, even without proving special damages. In other words, harm to the claimant’s own land or enjoyment can be enough for liability.

Public nuisance, by contrast, affects rights shared by the public as a whole. A private person can sue for public nuisance only if they have suffered special damage beyond what the general public suffers.

Looking at the choices: private nuisance is not about affecting the general public, so that’s incorrect. Public nuisance does involve special damages when a private individual sues, so that statement is correct. The idea that private nuisance requires special damages is not the usual rule, and the description in the option about public nuisance being an unreasonable interference with land is a mix-up of the two concepts.

So the correct distinction is that public nuisance requires special damages for a private claimant, while private nuisance can be actionable on the basis of unreasonable interference with land without needing special damages.