nuisance: Definition, Synonyms and Much More from Answers.com
- ️Wed Jul 01 2015
Before there were statutes and regulations dealing with public health, some protections were afforded by common law—the body of law developed through the case-by-case adjudication of disputes. The ancient protections against nuisances are common law rules that were originally intended for protection of private property rights and that, incidentally, benefitted public health.
A "nuisance" (also called a "private nuisance") is a condition or activity that unreasonably interferes with the use and enjoyment of private property. Examples of nuisances that affect public health include toxic chemicals leaching from a nearby mine into a landowner's well water; excessive noise; smoke or other air pollutants; and even hordes of flies from a neighbor's manure pile. A nuisance is usually ongoing; a one-time or brief occurrence would not usually be a substantial enough interference with property rights to constitute a nuisance. (This does not mean there is no remedy for harm caused by a one-time occurrence, such as a chemical explosion.)
A landowner may file a court action seeking redress from the responsible party for a nuisance. One remedy is damages (i.e., money) to compensate for harm resulting from the nuisance. Courts can also grant injunctive relief, such as ordering the responsible party to abate the nuisance. A court can also enjoin (bar) an anticipated activity that has a high likelihood of causing a nuisance, such as building an incinerator in a residential area.
Injunctive relief can be intrusive and onerous, and therefore it is granted only if justified in light of all the relevant circumstances, including the respective harms and benefits to each party, where the fault lies, and the existence of alternative remedies. For example, if homeowners sue to enjoin construction of a factory in their neighborhood, the court would weigh such factors as the health effects and decreased property values likely to be suffered by the residents, as well as the feasibility and cost to the company of locating the project elsewhere. If homeowners seek injunctive relief due to pollution from an existing factory, the cost on the defendant's side of the equation is likely to be much greater, and thus harder to overcome, especially if relief would require shutting down the factory.
The cause of action for nuisance discussed above is sometimes called private nuisance, to distinguish it from public nuisance. Whereas a private nuisance is an invasion of private property rights, a public nuisance is an interference with a right held in common by the public. The common law rules against public nuisance were developed, in part, for the protection of the public health and safety. Pollution of a river that interferes with the public's right to swim or fish is an example of a public nuisance. A governmental entity, or any individual affected by a public nuisance, can sue in court for abatement of the nuisance or other relief.
Today, there are other avenues available to accomplish goals that once relied solely on the common law. Federal and state environmental statutes, such as the Clean Water Act and the Clean Air Act, provide protections against public nuisances that harm the environment and public health. Much like the common law rule against public nuisances, many of these statutes can be enforced in court not only by governments, but also by affected citizens. Although invoked less frequently nowadays, the old common law protections against private and public nuisance are still generally recognized and available if needed.
(SEE ALSO: Clean Air Act; Clean Water Act; Public Health and the Law; Regulatory Authority; Toxic Torts)
Bibliography
Bonine, J. E., and McGarity, T. O. (1992). The Law of Environmental Protection, 2nd edition. Eagan, MN: West Publishing Co.
Boston, W., and Madden, M. S. (1994). Law of Environmental and Toxic Torts. Eagan, MN: West Publishing Co.
Findley, R. W., and Farber, D. A. (1996). Environmental Law in a Nutshell. Eagan, MN: West Publishing Co.
— RUSSELLYN S. CARRUTH
This entry contains information applicable to United States law only.
A legal action to redress harm arising from the use of one's property.
The two types of nuisance are private nuisance and public nuisance. A private nuisance is a civil wrong; it is the unreasonable, unwarranted, or unlawful use of one's property in a manner that substantially interferes with the enjoyment or use of another individual's property, without an actual trespass or physical invasion to the land. A public nuisance is a criminal wrong; it is an act or omission that obstructs, damages, or inconveniences the rights of the community.
Public Nuisance
The term public nuisance covers a wide variety of minor crimes that threaten the health, morals, safety, comfort, convenience, or welfare of a community. Violators may be punished by a criminal sentence, a fine, or both. A defendant may also be required to remove a nuisance or to pay the costs of removal. For example, a manufacturer who has polluted a stream might be fined and might also be ordered to pay the cost of cleanup. Public nuisances may interfere with public health, such as in the keeping of diseased animals or a malarial pond. Public safety nuisances include shooting fireworks in the streets, storing explosives, practicing medicine without a license, or harboring a vicious dog. Houses of prostitution, illegal liquor establishments, gaming houses, and unlicensed prizefights are examples of nuisances that interfere with public morals. Obstructing a highway or creating a condition to make travel unsafe or highly disagreeable are examples of nuisances threatening the public convenience.
A public nuisance interferes with the public as a class, not merely one person or a group of citizens. No civil remedy exists for a private citizen harmed by a public nuisance, even if her harm was greater than the harm suffered by others; a criminal prosecution is the exclusive remedy. However, if the individual suffers harm that is different from that suffered by the general public, she may maintain a tort action for damages. For example, if dynamiting has thrown a large boulder onto a public highway, those who use the highway cannot maintain a nuisance action for the inconvenience. However, a motorist who is injured from colliding with the boulder may bring a tort action for personal injuries.
Some nuisances can be both public and private in certain circumstances where the public nuisance substantially interferes with the use of an individual's adjoining land. For example, pollution of a river might constitute both a public and a private nuisance. This is known as a mixed nuisance.
Private Nuisance
A private nuisance is an interference with a person's enjoyment and use of his land. The law recognizes that landowners, or those in rightful possession of land, have the right to the unimpaired condition of the property and to reasonable comfort and convenience in its occupation.
Examples of private nuisances abound. Nuisances that interfere with the physical condition of the land include vibration or blasting that damages a house, destruction of crops, raising of a water table, or the pollution of soil, a stream, or an underground water supply. Examples of nuisances interfering with the comfort, convenience, or health of an occupant are foul odors, noxious gases, smoke, dust, loud noises, excessive light, or high temperatures. Moreover, a nuisance may also disturb an occupant's mental tranquility, such as a neighbor who keeps a vicious dog, even though an injury is only threatened in the future.
An attractive nuisance is a danger likely to lure children onto a person's land. For example, an individual who has a pool on his property has a legal obligation to take reasonable precautions, such as erecting a fence, to prevent foreseeable injury to children.
Trespass is sometimes confused with nuisance, but the two are distinct. A trespass action protects against an invasion of one's right to exclusive possession of land. If a landowner drops a tree across her neighbor's boundary line she has committed a trespass; if her dog barks all night keeping the neighbor awake, she may be liable for nuisance.
Legal Responsibility
A private nuisance is a tort, that is, a civil wrong. To determine accountability for an alleged nuisance, a court will examine three factors: the defendant's fault, whether there has been a substantial interference with the plaintiff's interest, and the reasonableness of the defendant's conduct.
Fault
Fault means that the defendant intentionally, negligently, or recklessly interfered with the plaintiff's use and enjoyment of the land or that the defendant continued her conduct after learning of actual harm or substantial risk of future harm to the plaintiff's interest. For example, a defendant who continues to spray chemicals into the air after learning that they are blowing onto the plaintiff's land is deemed to be intending that result. Where it is alleged that a defendant has violated a statute, proving the elements of the statute will establish fault.
Substantial Interference
The law is not intended to remedy trifles or redress petty annoyances. To establish liability under a nuisance theory, interference with the plaintiff's interest must be substantial. Determining substantial interference in cases where the physical condition of the property is affected will often be fairly straightforward. More challenging are those cases predicated on personal inconvenience, discomfort, or annoyance. To determine whether an interference is substantial, courts apply the standard of an ordinary member of the community with normal sensitivity and temperament. A plaintiff cannot, by putting his land to an unusually sensitive use, make a nuisance out of the defendant's conduct that would otherwise be relatively harmless.
Reasonableness of Defendant's Conduct
If the interference with the plaintiff's interest is substantial, a determination must then be made that it is unreasonable for the plaintiff to bear it or to bear it without compensation. This is a balancing process weighing the respective interests of both parties. The law recognizes that the activities of others must be accommodated to a certain extent, particularly in matters of industry, commerce, or trade. The nature and gravity of the harm is balanced against the burden of preventing the harm and the usefulness of the conduct.
The following are factors to be considered: [bl]Extent and duration of the disturbance;
Nature of the harm;
Social value of the plaintiff's use of his property or other interest;
Burden to the plaintiff in preventing the harm;
Value of the defendant's conduct, in general and to the particular community;
Motivation of the defendant;
Feasibility of the defendant's mitigating or preventing the harm;
Locality and suitability of the uses of the land by both parties.
Zoning boards use these factors to enact restrictions of property uses in specific locations. In this way, zoning laws work to prohibit public nuisances and to maintain the quality of a neighborhood.
Defenses
In an attempt to escape liability, a defendant may argue that legislation (such as zoning laws or licenses) authorizes a particular activity. Legislative authority will not excuse a defendant from liability if the conduct is unreasonable.
A defendant may not escape liability by arguing that others are also contributing to the harm; damages will be apportioned according to a defendant's share of the blame. Moreover, a defendant is liable even where her actions without the actions of others would not have constituted a nuisance.
Defendants sometimes argue that a plaintiff "came to a nuisance" by moving onto land next to an already operating source of interference. A new owner is entitled to the reasonable use and enjoyment of her land the same as anyone else, but the argument may be considered in determining the reasonableness of the defendant's conduct. It may also have an impact in determining damages, because the purchase price may have reflected the existence of the nuisance.
Remedies
Redress for nuisance is commonly monetary damages. An injunction or abatement may also be proper under certain circumstances. An injunction orders a defendant to stop, remove, restrain, or restrict a nuisance or abandon plans for a threatened nuisance. In public nuisance cases, a fine or sentence may be imposed, in addition to abatement or injunctive relief.
Injunction is a drastic remedy, used only when damage or the threat of damage is irreparable and not satisfactorily compensable only by monetary damages. The court examines the economic hardships to the parties and the interest of the public in allowing the continuation of the enterprise.
A self-help remedy, abatement by the plaintiff, is available under limited circumstances. This privilege must be exercised within a reasonable time after learning of the nuisance and usually requires notice to the defendant and the defendant's failure to act. Reasonable force may be used to employ the abatement, and a plaintiff may be liable for unreasonable or unnecessary damages. For example, dead tree limbs extending dangerously over a neighbor's house may be removed by the neighbor in danger, after notifying the offending landowner of the nuisance. In cases where an immediate danger to health, property, or life exists, no notification is necessary.
See: land-use control; tort law.
Nuisance is a common law tort. It is one of the oldest causes of action known to the common law, with cases framed in nuisance going back almost to the beginning of recorded case law. Nuisance signifies that the right of quiet enjoyment is being disrupted to such a degree that a tort is being committed.
Traditionally, nuisance is divided into public nuisance, interference with the reasonable expectations and rights of the general public (ie, society), and private nuisance, the interference with the right of specific people.
Legal definition of nuisance
Under the common law, persons in possession of real property (either land owners or tenants) are entitled to the quiet enjoyment of their lands. If a l neighbour interferes with that quiet enjoyment, either by creating smells, sounds, pollution or any other hazard that extends past the boundaries of the property, the affected party may make a claim in nuisance.
To be a nuisance, the level of interference must rise above the merely aesthetic. For example, if your neighbour paints their house purple, it may offend you, but it does not rise to the level of nuisance. In most cases, normal uses of a property that can constitute quiet enjoyment cannot be restrained in nuisance either. For example, the sound of a crying baby may be annoying, but it is an expected part of quiet enjoyment of property and does not constitute a nuisance.
Nuisances come in two forms: private and public.
A public nuisance is an unreasonable interference with the public's right to property. It includes conduct that interferes with public health, safety, peace or convenience. The unreasonableness may be evidenced by statute or by the nature of the act, including how long and how bad the effects of the activity.[1]
A private nuisance is simply a violation of one's use of quiet enjoyment of land. It does not include trespass.[2]
Any affected property owner has standing to sue for a private nuisance. If a nuisance is widespread enough, but yet has a public purpose, it is often treated at law as a public nuisance. Owners of interests in real property (whether owners, lessors, or holders of an easement or other interest) have standing only to bring private nuisance suits.
History and legal development of nuisance
In the late 19th and early 20th centuries, the law of nuisance became difficult to administer as competing property uses often posed a nuisance to each other and the cost of litigation to settle the issue grew prohibitive. As such, most jurisdictions now have a system of land use planning (e.g. zoning) that describes what activities are acceptable in a given location. Zoning generally overrules nuisance. For example, if a factory is operating in an industrial zone, neighbours in the neighbouring residential zone cannot make a claim in nuisance. Jurisdictions without zoning laws, essentially leave land use to be determined by the laws concerning nuisance.
Remedies
Under the common law, the only remedy for a nuisance was the payment of damages. However, with the development of the courts of equity, the remedy of an injunction became available to prevent a defendant from repeating the activity that caused the nuisance, and specifying punishment for contempt if the defendant is in breach of such an injunction.
The law and economics movement has been involved in analyzing the most efficient choice of remedies given the circumstances of the nuisance. In Boomer v. Atlantic Cement Co. a cement plant interfered with a number of neighbors, yet the cost of complying with a full injunction would have been far more than a fair value of the cost to the plaintiffs of continuation. The New York court allowed the cement plant owner to 'purchase' the injunction for a specified amount--the permanent damages. In theory, the permanent damage amount should be the net present value of all future damages suffered by the plaintiff.
Law related to nuisance, by country
UK
- For the English criminal law, see public nuisance.
The boundaries of the tort are potentially unclear due to the public/private nuisance divide and existence of the rule in Rylands v Fletcher. Writers such as John Murphy of the University of Manchester have popularised the idea that Rylands forms a separate, though related tort. This is still an issue for debate and is rejected by others (the primary distinction in Rylands concerns 'escapes onto land', and so it may be argued the only difference is the nature of the nuisance, not the nature of the civil wrong.)
Under English law the situation is different: the 1879 case of Sturges v Bridgman is still good law, and a new owner can bring a claim in nuisance for the existing activities of a neighbour.
USA
Many states have limited instances where a claim of nuisance may be brought. Such limitation often became necessary as the sensibilities of urban dwellers were offended by smells of agricultural waste when they moved to rural locations. For example, many states and provinces have "right to farm" provisions that allow any agricultural use of land zoned or historically used for agriculture.
There are two classes of nuisance under the American law: a nuisance in fact or "nuisance per accidens" and a nuisance per se. The classification determines whether the claim goes to the jury or gets decided by the judge. An alleged nuisance in fact is an issue of fact to be determined by the jury, who will decide whether the thing or act in question created a nuisance by examining its location and surroundings, the manner of its conduct, and other circumstances.[3] A determination that something is a nuisance in fact also requires proof of the act and its consequences.[3]
By contrast, a nuisance per se is "an activity, or an act, structure, instrument, or occupation which is a nuisance at all times and under any circumstances, regardless of location or surroundings." [4] Liability for a nuisance per se is absolute and injury to the public is presumed; if its existence is alleged and established by proof, it is also established as a matter of law.[5] Therefore a judge would decide a nuisance per se while a jury would decide a nuisance in fact.
Most nuisance claims allege a nuisance in fact for the simple reason that not many actions or structures have been deemed to be nuisances per se. In general, if an act or use of property is lawful or authorized by competent authority, it cannot be a nuisance per se.[6] Rather, the act in question must either be declared by public statute or by case law to be a nuisance per se.[7] There are not many state or federal statutes or case law declaring actions or structures to be a nuisance in and of themselves. Nor are many activities or structures in and of themselves and under any and all circumstances a nuisance, which is how courts determine whether or not an action or structure is a nuisance per se.[8]
Note: the term is also used less formally in the United States to describe the non-meritorious nature of frivolous litigation. A lawsuit may be described as a "nuisance suit", and a settlement a "nuisance settlement", if the defendant pays money to the plaintiff to drop the case primarily to spare the cost of litigation, not because the suit would have a significant likelihood of winning.
References
- ^ Restatement (Second) of Torts § 821B
- ^ Restatement (Second) of Torts § 821D
- ^ a b City of Sunland Park v. Harris News, Inc., 2005-NMCA-128, 45, 124 P.3d 566, 138 N.M. 58 (citing 58 AM.JUR.2D NUISANCES § 21)
- ^ Id. 40 (citing State ex rel. Village of Los Ranchos v. City of Albuquerque, 119 N.M. 150, 164, 889 P.2d 185, 199 (1994))
- ^ See 58 AM.JUR.2D NUISANCES § 21
- ^ See 58 AM.JUR.2D NUISANCES § 20
- ^ State v. Davis, 65 N.M. 128, 132, 333 P.2d 613, 616 (1958); See also Sunland Park, 2005-NMCA-128, 47
- ^ Koeber, 72 N.M. at 5, 380 P.2d at 16.
See also
External links
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Dansk (Danish)
n. - ulempe, gene, pestilens
idioms:
- make a nuisance of oneself forstyrre, være en plageånd
Nederlands (Dutch)
last, hinder, lastpost
Français (French)
n. - désagrément, peste, personne pénible, gêne, (Jur) nuisance
idioms:
- make a nuisance of oneself embêter tout le monde
Deutsch (German)
n. - Ärgernis, Plage, Belästigung
idioms:
- make a nuisance of oneself lästig werden
Ελληνική (Greek)
n. - βάσανο, ενόχληση, κακός μπελάς, φασαρία, επιβάρυνση
idioms:
- make a nuisance of oneself γίνομαι ενοχλητικός
Italiano (Italian)
seccatura, fastidio
idioms:
- make a nuisance of rendersi insopportabile
Português (Portuguese)
n. - incômodo (m)
idioms:
- make a nuisance of tornar-se inoportuno a outras pessoas
Русский (Russian)
обуза, досада, неудобство
idioms:
- make a nuisance of надоедать кому-либо
Español (Spanish)
n. - pesadez, lata, molestia, fastidio
idioms:
- make a nuisance of oneself persona o animal que molesta
Svenska (Swedish)
n. - otyg, ofog, oskick, obehag, besvär, plåga, bråkstake, förfång (jur.)
中文（简体） (Chinese (Simplified))
讨厌的人或东西, 损害, 麻烦事
idioms:
- make a nuisance of oneself 惹人讨厌, 被人讨厌
中文（繁體） (Chinese (Traditional))
n. - 討厭的人或東西, 損害, 麻煩事
idioms:
- make a nuisance of oneself 惹人討厭, 被人討厭
한국어 (Korean)
n. - 남에게 해가 되는 행위
idioms:
- make a nuisance of oneself 남에게 폐를 끼치다
日本語 (Japanese)
n. - 迷惑をかけるもの, 迷惑な行為, 不法妨害
idioms:
- make a nuisance of 邪魔になる
العربيه (Arabic)
(الاسم) اذى, ازعاج
עברית (Hebrew)
n. - טרדן, מטרד
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