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The Worst Neighbor Ever and Selective Code Enforcement

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reamann

Junior Member
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.
 


Tape his phone calls, use a small pocket recorder to record any harassing conversations he has with you, use a video cam to record any harrasing activity from him. Then go to the local or state newspaper and give them a great story about harassment and the big guy vs the little guy.
Since he is an asst gen attorney, he probably has enough pull that suing him won't make a real difference. If you plan to stay there, get tough and fight fire with fire.
 

reamann

Junior Member
Tape his phone calls, use a small pocket recorder to record any harassing conversations he has with you, use a video cam to record any harrasing activity from him. Then go to the local or state newspaper and give them a great story about harassment and the big guy vs the little guy.
Since he is an asst gen attorney, he probably has enough pull that suing him won't make a real difference. If you plan to stay there, get tough and fight fire with fire.
Great advice. What about the court ordering me to pay for his representing himself. Anyone heard of this? Is this legal? Should I try to appeal? Thanks for your help.
 

stealth2

Under the Radar Member
Or you could, you know, try to keep your lawn mowed and the trash cans put away.

His legal fees would include lost time at work, filing fees, etc.
 

reamann

Junior Member
Or you could, you know, try to keep your lawn mowed and the trash cans put away.
Sometimes I am a bit slow or sloppy doing work around the house, but I don't think that gives the tight a** next door an excuse to use his power and influence to drive me out of my new house.

His legal fees would include lost time at work, filing fees, etc.
Yes, part of the legal fees did include court costs, and I am not objecting to that. The part I am concerned about is the lawyers fee they want me to pay. Thay say he can collect a certain amount for the time he spent representing himself, since he is liscensed to practice law in my state. This is not time off work, but an actual lawyer fee. Has anyone heard of this before? Is it legal?
 

yellowdog

Junior Member
Great advice. What about the court ordering me to pay for his representing himself. Anyone heard of this? Is this legal? Should I try to appeal? Thanks for your help.
the court can order u to do whatever it wants. u cant appeal because of small claims procedure
 

Viceman

Junior Member
This scum is why lawyers and politicians have such bad reputations. Keep any notes he gives or mails you. If you have caller ID, always let the answering machine pick up when he calls. Otherwise, if you answer and record the conversation without his consent, it would not be admissible in court and he would no doubt sue you if you revealed such recordings. Answering machines resolve that issue because he is knowingly and voluntarily allowing his comments to be recorded.

I love kennethhoff's idea of video taping everything you can and sending it to the media. Letting the public know what a piece of crap your neighbor is will give him incentive to mind his manners and keep his nose out of your business. The last thing these self-appointed hot-shots want is a damaged reputation and being made a fool of.

Ignore stealth2's asinine comment about mowing your lawn and taking out trash. Anyone who says "you know" even in jest isn't credible. Even without the words "you know" his "advice" is absurd since it is your home, your lawn, and nobody has any business telling you when you should mow your lawn or remove trash cans, etc. If your jerk of a neighbor says another word about cleanup tell him to mind his own damn business and not to mention another word or you will file a complaint of harrassment in addition to going to the media.

A shame about the attorney fees. The same goes for the judge that ruled in favor of that jerk. Find out everything you can about the legality regarding your pets. If you have to fork over the $300 then there is nothing you can do unless you can give some of them away and keep one or two.

Note to yellowdog: Please spell out the word "you." Typing an extra two letters can't be that hard. Typing only the letter "u" is very adolescent and weakens the strength of your statements.
 

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