Teaching Guide Testimonials and ReviewsThe Lord Denning VideoGeneral Paisley Snail InfoTeaching Guide Outline and Ordering InformationTeaching Guide Sales to Date Information
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Susan Linklater acting the role of
May Donoghue

Possibly the most famous litigant of all time
This highly innovative and entertaining 42 minute docu-drama tells the remarkable story of May Donoghue, her struggle for justice and the ramifications her case has had around the world. May Donoghue has had an amazing effect on the lives of millions of people around the world. Here is her story...
Water
Leechman

May's
Lawyer
The original site of the Wellmeadow
Cafe
The program uses dramatic recreation, old photos and interviews to trace May's arduous journey from the Wellmeadow Cafe to the House of Lords and finally to the Gartloch Mental Hospital where she spent the last years of her life in obscurity.
The site today is
a park dedicated to the memory of the famous case

If you were to ask lawyers from around the world to name the most famous tort case in legal history, they would say without hesitation Donoghue v. Stevenson.

Lord Atkin
Neil Connery,
of the famous Scottish Connerys,
in the role of
Lord Atkin.
Martin Taylor
Q.C. program Narrator
Interviews with Robert Barr, the defendant in the 'mouse' case, Lord Denning, who remembers Lord Atkin, British and Canadian barristers and judges, and the residents of Paisley, who give their own offbeat interpretation of the case, all help to illuminate this wonderful story.
Robert Barr

The Defendant
in the
mouse case
The Paisley Snail: Teaching Guide
The teaching guide was designed with two purposes in mind.
(1) To assist the students in understanding:
  • the role of the courts in making law;
  • the tort of negligence;
  • the content and legal significance of the videotape,'The Paisley Snail';
  • and issues relating to the tort of negligence such as:
  • the neighbour principle
  • product liabilty

    • strict liability
    (2) To provide activities that will assist students in appreciating the influence that the judge made or common law, especially as it relates to the tort of negligence, has on their daily lives.The activities included in this guide flow from relatively basic exercises that can be achieved in three sessions, including viewing the video, to more advanced exercises that would be more appropriate for extended studies.
    Activities suggested or provided include:
    • legal terms to know;
    • simple questions and answers regarding comprehension of the videotape;
    • scenarios (with variations) that illustrate situations that have arisen recently or that might occur, with follow-up questions or group resolution activities; and, suggested topics for class debate.
    Our objective is to both educate and entertain as we shed light upon a little known but fascinating and controversial piece of history that has had and will continue to have an enormous impact upon people throughout the common law world.

    Lord Macauley
    of Bragan, Q.C.
    The Donoghue v. Stevenson case has been described by some as an invitation to chaos and by others as a fountain of wisdom.
    Mr. Justice
    Allen Linden