What is the name of your state? Arkansas
This is a bit of a long story, but I could really use some help, so bear with me.
A few months ago I moved to Arkansas for my job and started arguing with my obnoxious new neighbor almost immediatley. He is a political figure in this state, works as an assistant attorney general, and thinks that he is the center of the world. He has also taken it upon himself to make my life a living hell until I leave the neighborhood.
During our move, he came over and introduced himself. At the time, he seemed like a really nice guy. Boy was I wrong. Within a couple of hours started asking how much longer our moving truck was going to be in the street, saying that he had friends coming over and wanted it out of the way. We got several more harassing phone calls about this over the course of the evening.
This kind of thing went on for the next couple of weeks. Almost every day he would drop little hints that we should mow our grass, pick up the trash can, etc. What's worse, he was the one who was the bad neighbor. There was traffic going to and from his house almost all the time and the noise next door almost never ended.
The situation really took a turn for the worse when my teenage son accidntally ran over his mailbox in a car (a stupid move I know). We apologized and offered to pay for the mailbox, but that was not good enough for him. He took us to court and collected not only the cost of the mailbox, but legal fees as well EVEN THOUGH HE IS A LAWYER AND REPRESENTED HIMSELF!
Soon after this, he brought his political friends into the equation. The city's code enforcement divison goes by our house on a daily basis and we have gotten three citations in the past six weeks, even though many other people have the same problems and have not received anything from the city. We also got a notice telling us that we need to purchase a $300 kennel license to keep our dogs in the backyard. He is also threatening to have me investigated by the Attorney General's office (where he works) for running a small yard business out of my home.
The phone calls and visits also moved from subtle suggestions (i.e. do you need some help moving that trash can back into your garage) to outright harassment. We have tried talking with him and he denies that he is doing anything wrong. Do I have any legal remedies for any of this? Does the city's selective enforcement of the laws give me any way to get out of paying the tickets? PLEASE HELP.
This is a bit of a long story, but I could really use some help, so bear with me.
A few months ago I moved to Arkansas for my job and started arguing with my obnoxious new neighbor almost immediatley. He is a political figure in this state, works as an assistant attorney general, and thinks that he is the center of the world. He has also taken it upon himself to make my life a living hell until I leave the neighborhood.
During our move, he came over and introduced himself. At the time, he seemed like a really nice guy. Boy was I wrong. Within a couple of hours started asking how much longer our moving truck was going to be in the street, saying that he had friends coming over and wanted it out of the way. We got several more harassing phone calls about this over the course of the evening.
This kind of thing went on for the next couple of weeks. Almost every day he would drop little hints that we should mow our grass, pick up the trash can, etc. What's worse, he was the one who was the bad neighbor. There was traffic going to and from his house almost all the time and the noise next door almost never ended.
The situation really took a turn for the worse when my teenage son accidntally ran over his mailbox in a car (a stupid move I know). We apologized and offered to pay for the mailbox, but that was not good enough for him. He took us to court and collected not only the cost of the mailbox, but legal fees as well EVEN THOUGH HE IS A LAWYER AND REPRESENTED HIMSELF!
Soon after this, he brought his political friends into the equation. The city's code enforcement divison goes by our house on a daily basis and we have gotten three citations in the past six weeks, even though many other people have the same problems and have not received anything from the city. We also got a notice telling us that we need to purchase a $300 kennel license to keep our dogs in the backyard. He is also threatening to have me investigated by the Attorney General's office (where he works) for running a small yard business out of my home.
The phone calls and visits also moved from subtle suggestions (i.e. do you need some help moving that trash can back into your garage) to outright harassment. We have tried talking with him and he denies that he is doing anything wrong. Do I have any legal remedies for any of this? Does the city's selective enforcement of the laws give me any way to get out of paying the tickets? PLEASE HELP.