Nasty Neighbor

[VicRoy]

What is the name of your state (only U.S. law)? Washington, out of city limits.

Hi there. I'm new here and hope you can help me.

Last Summer, our neighbor started causing trouble for us. She reported us to the permit center for no permit on our portable RV shelter, which had been in place for 5 years. She also claimed we were doing business on our property repairing vintage trailers. (Not, they're all are in our name-it's our hobby to restore them) We proved our hobby status but had to remove the portable shelter.

We recently built a permanent RV cover complete with all county permits, inspections, etc. Final approval issued. (28 x 60 x 12 high)

Now the neighbor has threatened to sue us for "ruining her view" of a dying elm tree and the large treed hill behind it. The view as I see it is of our back yard, fence and the old elm which blocks any view of the hill. The hill is still visible, just not right at the building site. Our acre is higher than hers.

Question: Can she sue us for ruining her view? If so, what law(s) would we have broken? Should we hire a lawyer?

Thank you for help in advance.

Note: this same rude lady was teaching her dogs to do their business on our property...

 

[drewguy]

1) You will have to conform your conduct to whatever rules apply in your town/city/county. If that means you need a permit for something, get a permit. You can't really complain about having to comply with the law, although it's not pleasant to have someone looking for every possible minor violation.

2) She can sue for loss of view, but she's very unlikely to win. Some cities-e.g., San Francisco--have ordinances preserving views, but most locations do not. So long as your buildings comply with the applicable zoning codes then she won't succeed in her lawsuit.

3) If her dogs are in your yard, call the animal control officer. If she's going to insist that you comply with the law, she should be prepared to do so herself.

 

[VicRoy]

Thank you Drewguy for the reply.

We believe everything is "legal" in our yard. The new building has all the permits, etc. required. I was really concerned when she threatened a lawsuit over the non existent view. You have relieved our worry somewhat on that. Hopefully, she will do research and realize chances of winning are nil. It would be expensive both in time and money to go to court...

I have thought about retaliation for her rude ways but that might add fuel to a fire I'd rather put out. We have fenced the yard to keep the dogs out. It isn't the dogs at all, but her behavior that was so shocking. Just to stand at the opening in the fence, waiting for the dogs to go. ugh.

They break rules all the time and at this point we are taking pictures of any infractions. If she does decide to sue, perhaps we can discuss them with her. The sad part about this is that she never once mentioned being angry at us or not liking our portable building. The formal complaint hit us out of the blue.

To sum up, this lady is a little "off". She has a lovely Border Collie that is trapped in a cage during 90+ degrees in the Summer. I WILL report that to animal control. Trouble is, she will probably put the dog to sleep if she is cited. Not fair at all.

Again, thank you for the information and easing our concerns.