Final answer:
The Anns v Merton London Borough Council [1978] case deals with a local authority's liability for negligent building inspections and established a test for duty of care in English tort law. The case led to the Anns test, which has had a significant influence on the development of negligence and duty of care standards.
Step-by-step explanation:
The Anns v Merton London Borough Council [1978] case is a significant legal case in the context of negligence that had a considerable impact on the development of the law of duty of care in English tort law. The case addressed the question of when a local authority could be held liable for damages due to negligent building inspections, ultimately leading to a broad test for duty of care known as the Anns test. This test initially proposed a two-stage process: first, whether there is a sufficient relationship of proximity or neighbourhood such that, in the reasonable contemplation of the defendant, carelessness on its part might cause damage to the plaintiff; and secondly, if the first step is affirmed, whether there are any considerations that ought to negate or limit the scope of the duty, the class of persons to whom it is owed or the damages to which a breach of it may give rise.
In summary, the House of Lords held that the Merton London Borough Council owed a duty of care to the owners of the flats in relation to the inspections carried out during the construction of the building. This assessment has significantly contributed to understandings of the negligence and duty of care within the area of English tort law.