Dealing with the neighborhood nuisance

You may be living next to, or perhaps down the street from, someone who does something that disturbs you on a regular and continuous basis. That something could be a dog, a neighbor that throws loud parties, a particularly foul odor, a home-operated car repair business or any number of other irritants, aggravations or nuisances. The last term is the proper legal form of action to remove and prevent these from happening again. This is one of the few instances when both you and a court would probably use the very same word to describe what you are experiencing – a nuisance!
The law defines a nuisance as “an offensive, obnoxious or indecent thing which obstructs your right to the comfortable enjoyment of your life or property.” But before you rush to judgment that your neighbor who insists on watching “American Idol” at the maximum volume is causing a nuisance, you should know that a nuisance must be injurious to your health. Chances are you can probably avoid “American Idol” by moving into another room of your residence or by doing something else during that limited two hours a week when it is playing. When the two hours ends, your experience is truly over without any hangover effect. Most likely, “American Idol” does not have an impact upon your health or deprive you of the enjoyment of your home. Therefore it would not qualify as a nuisance.
On the other hand, the dog that barks virtually every hour of the night and forces you to dread going home at the end of the day, because for the 80th day in a row you will hear that same bark, in that same cadence, on and on, for hours at a time, without any relief, whether you are in the kitchen, in the bedroom, eating dinner or even watching TV, is probably a nuisance. The barking is disturbing your quiet enjoyment of your home, ruining your quality of life, depriving you of much-needed sleep and very simply needs to be stopped before you have nothing left.
That is a nuisance, and you can initiate legal action to have it stopped. When all else fails, you will simply need to utilize the power of the court. The main purpose of filing legal action on a neighborhood nuisance is to have the court order that your neighbor keep that dog quiet so you can enjoy your home.
To file a nuisance action you should obtain an attorney who will help you build a case that will demonstrate the constant irritating nature of the conduct and the adverse effects that it is having on you and your household. Armed with an attorney, you may be able to strike an agreement with your neighbor. After all, you are now showing that you are serious. But if not, then you will probably want your attorney to file an action in court that requests the court to provide you a court order to “abate the nuisance,” in other words, prevent the conduct. Your goal is to hear a judge say one day what you have been saying all along: “Nuisance!”

(Editor’s note: Legal Matters is a monthly column addressing issues of real estate, land use, business, condemnation, constitutional law and nuisances written by attorneys who work for Walter and Pistole. Legal Matters welcomes questions from Sun readers. Please visit the Columns page at www.sonomasun.com.)