Q. My neighbor races ATVs on his property at all hours of the day and night, three or four days a week, and the noise is unbearable. What are my legal options
Our relationship with our neighbors often has a very direct impact on our quality of life but, unfortunately, not all of us are blessed with considerate neighbors. Some neighbors do things which we find annoying but, ultimately, choose to begrudgingly tolerate – for example, the neighbor who persistently lets his yard become overgrown, the neighbor who stores junk cars on his property, or the neighbor who thinks it’s perfectly appropriate to let his dog use your yard as a bathroom. Some neighbors, however, do things which simply make your life unbearable –such as your example of racing loud ATVs at all hours of the day and night.
Exercise Other Options Before You Choose Litigation
There are some options you can try before resorting to litigation. First, and most basically, you can try to discuss the situation directly with your neighbor and see if some compromise or resolution can be reached. Since it is possible that the neighbor may not truly appreciate the adverse impact he is causing, it may be helpful to invite him onto your property or into your home while the activity is going on to hear the noise firsthand. If there are other neighbors who are similarly affected, it may be helpful to approach the neighbor as a group. Second, some municipalities (but not all) have zoning codes or noise ordinances which may prohibit or limit the activity. Check with local officials to see if that is the case, and if so, whether they will intervene to address the situation.
If those efforts are unsuccessful, the law does provide legal recourse in this type of a situation.While each property owner is generally entitled to use and enjoy his property for any lawful purpose he sees fit, there can come a point where that use encroaches upon another property owner’s corresponding right to use and enjoy their own property. The law of private nuisance attempts to strike a balance between those competing rights.
What the Law Has to Say About Your Nuisance Neighbors
Under New York law, a Court may enjoin (or prohibit) a defendant from engaging in conduct or activity on his property which rises to the level of a private “nuisance”, and in appropriate cases may award the plaintiff compensatory or even punitive damages. Of course, not every offensive activity qualifies as a “nuisance”– one of the consequences of living in an organized community is that we are all expected to tolerate some inconvenience or annoyance from time to time. To be considered a nuisance, the conduct at issue must result in a “substantial” and “unreasonable” interference with another’s right to use and enjoy their property.
Whether the interference is “substantial” is usually a question of degree – imagined, trivial, or petty disturbances won’t qualify – and is judged against an objective standard of whether a reasonable person in the same circumstances would be annoyed or disturbed by the same interference. Similarly, the question of whether the interference is unreasonable turns on a variety of factors that aim to balance the utility and social value of the offending conduct against the seriousness of the harm being caused. Relevant considerations include the character of the neighborhood and the location of the properties; the nature and purpose of the conduct at issue; whether the activity was begun before or after the plaintiff came into possession of his property; the nature, extent, and frequency of the interference; and whether the impact of the interference can be lessened or avoided altogether without causing undue hardship to the defendant.
Whether the interference caused by a particular activity rises to the level of a private nuisance ultimately depends on the particular facts and circumstances of each case, and for that reason, the question is typically one for a jury to decide. While all of the foregoing factors are relevant, often the question turns on the frequency and duration of the interference. For example, an interference from noise resulting from the operation of ATVs for two hours, once a week, on Saturday afternoons may not be considered to be “unreasonable” in nature. On the other hand, performing that same activity for three hours at a time, four days a week, between the hours of 10:00 p.m. and 2:00 a.m., may be seen as an unreasonable nuisance by a jury.
Documentation Is Everything in This Case
The plaintiff, of course, bears the burden of introducing evidence to establish the nature of the activity and the degree of the resulting interference. To that end, it may be helpful to keep a log which carefully records the frequency and duration of the offending conduct over a period of weeks. If the interference is based on noise, it may also be a good idea to have sound measurements taken to record the decibel level at various locations on your property, such as at the property line, outside on a porch or deck, and inside the home.
Are you dealing with nuisance neighbors of your own? If you are ready to move to litigation, our team is ready to help you. Get in touch with us to schedule your free consultation with our real estate attorneys.