| The smoker next door & my 13 month old daughter
What is the name of your state? California
My wife, 13 month old daughter, and I recently moved into a "nice quiet friendly" apartment in Studio City, California. We soon came to find out that there were 6 people living in the apartment next door to us. Four of them are smokers, who light up in an exterior common hallway (some 6 feet outside our front window). It is one of those old shuttered glass floor-to-ceiling type windows, so it does not seal all the way, thus it allows our neighbors smoke to waif into our apartment and expose my 13 month old daughter to second-hand smoke.
On 4 occasions I have tried to politely speak to the tenants about this, and suggested that they smoke at a patio table some 40 feet way, so that at least most of their smoke would dissipate before reaching our apartment. Their response, in a nutshell, has been "screw you. . . we smoke where we want." I spoke with the owner of the apartment building about this and he was successful in getting 3 of the tenants to move out, leaving only one smoker living there full time. He happens to be a SIXTEEN year old boy who by his mother's own admission "has emotional problems". He doesn't go to school (expelled I believe) so he stays at home all day long smoking outside our window. No matter how hard I've tried I cannot get get him to stop doing it, or get his mother to make him stop doing it, nor get my landlord to force him to stop doing it.
Here is the thing that is killing my inside, and quite possibly my 13 month old daughter: Because the boy is only sixteen years old and has his mother's permission to smoke, (as well as the knowledge that the landlord is complacent in the matter) he knows there is not much I can do to make him stop. As a result, he gleefully, defiantly, and maliciously stands outside our window and literally (with intentional force) blows his cigarette smoke into our apartment!!!
I have argued to the landlord that he/they are in violation of their lease agreement because they are intentionally creating a nuisance and therefore have grounds to evict them. My landlord says that while he thinks that his/their behavior is deplorable, they are not in clear violation of nuisance law and counters that the tenants next door say I am harassing them; because on four occasions I politely tried to speak with them about the problem and on one occasion yelled at the boy about his smoking! He also refuses to perform any repairs to my window that would seal out the smoke.
I need help. I am on the brink of despair. knowing that all day long my daughter is being harmed by a emotionally disturbed youth, and a complacent mother and landlord has left me in such a state of distress.
I have never sued anyone before but feel it may be the only way to resolve this. What legal recourse do I have? Can I sue the tenants for emotional distress, intentional malice, willful child endangerment? Can I sue the landlord for not providing an inhabitable dwelling, failure to enforce nuisance laws and failure to make necessary repairs to my unit which would keep the neighbors smoke out of my apartment?
We are bound to a one year lease (10 months left on it), so moving is not an option. What can I do? Some one please help?
Sincerely,
Eric S.  | 
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