nuisance

Nuisance is that activity which arises from unreasonable, unwarranted or unlawful use by a person of his own property, working obstruction or injury to right of another, or to the public, and producing such material annoyance, inconvenience and discomfort that law will presume resulting damage. State ex rel. Herman v. Cardon, 23 Ariz.App. 78, 530 P.2d 1115, 1118.

That which annoys and disturbs one in possession of his property, rendering its ordinary use or occupation physically uncomfortable to him; e.g. smoke, odors, noise, or vibration. Patton v. Westwood Country Club Co., 18 Ohio App.2d 137, 247 N.E.2d 761, 763, 47 O.O.2d 247.

The term is incapable of exhaustive definition which will fit all cases, as it is very comprehensive and includes everything that endangers life or health, gives offense to senses, violates laws of decency, or obstructs reasonable and comfortable use of property. U.S. v. County Board of Arlington County, D.C.Va., 487 F.Supp. 137, 143.

An offensive, annoying, unpleasant, or obnoxious thing or practice; a cause or source of annoyance, especially a continuing or repeated invasion or disturbance of another's right, or anything that works a hurt, inconvenience or damage. Renken v. Harvey Aluminum (Inc.), D.C.Or., 226 F.Supp. 169, 175.

Nuisances are commonly classed as public, private, and mixed. A public nuisance is one which affects an indefinite number of persons, or all the residents of a particular locality, or all people coming within the extent of its range or operation, although the extent of the annoyance or damage inflicted upon individuals may be unequal.

Maintaining a public nuisance is by act, or by failure to perform a legal duty, intentionally causing or permitting a condition to exist which injures or endangers the public health, safety or welfare.

An invasion of a person's interest in the private use and enjoyment of land by any type of liability-forming conduct is termed a private nuisance. It is a tort against a private person, and actionable by him as such. As distinguished from public nuisance, a private nuisance includes any wrongful act which destroys or deteriorates the property of an individual or of a few persons or interferes with their lawful use or enjoyment thereof, or any act which unlawfully hinders them in the enjoyment of a common or public right and causes them a special injury different from that sustained by the general public. Therefore, although the ground of distinction between public and private nuisances is still the injury to the community at large or, on the other hand, to a single individual, it is evident that the same thing or act may constitute a public nuisance and at the same time a private nuisance.

A mixed nuisance is of the kind last described; that is, it is one which is both public and private in its effects,-public because it injures many persons or all the community, and private in that it also produces special injuries to private rights. Kelley v. New York, 6 Misc. 516, 27 N.Y.S. 164.

See also anticipatory nuisance

- attractive nuisance doctrine

- common nuisance

- legalized nuisance

- offensive

- private nuisance

- public nuisance.

@ abatement of a nuisance

The removal, stoppage, prostration, or destruction of that which causes a nuisance, whether by breaking or pulling it down, or otherwise removing, destroying, or effacing it.

See also abatable nuisance.

@ absolute nuisance

Nuisance grounded in conduct which is intentional, rather than negligent. Dingwell v. Town of Litchfield, 4 Conn.App. 621, 496 A.2d 213, 215.

Compare qualified nuisance, below.

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- actionable nuisance

@ assize of nuisance

In old English practice, this was a judicial writ directed to the sheriff of the county in which a nuisance existed, in which it was stated that the party injured complained of some particular fact done ad nocumentum liberi tenements sui (to the nuisance of his freehold), and commanding the sheriff to summon an assize (that is, a jury) to view the premises, and have them at the next commission of assizes, that justice might be done, etc. 3 Bl.Comm. 221.

+ assize of nuisance

A writ of assize which lay where a nuisance had been committed to the complainant's freehold; either for abatement of the nuisance or for damages

See also assize; nuisance

@ common nuisance

One which affects the public in general, and not merely some particular person; a public nuisance.

+ common nuisance

A nuisance is a "common nuisance" or a "public nuisance", the terms being synonymous, where it affects the rights enjoyed by citizens as part of the public, that is, the rights to which every citizen is entitled. Dahlstrom v. Roosevelt Mills, Inc., 27 Conn.Sup. 355, 238 A.2d 431, 432.

See also nuisance

@ continuing nuisance

An uninterrupted or periodically recurring nuisance; not necessarily a constant or unceasing injury, but a nuisance which occurs so often and is so necessarily an incident of the use of property complained of that it can fairly be said to be continuous.

@ maintaining a nuisance

To "maintain" a nuisance means something more than having knowledge of its existence; it means, in addition, preserving and continuing its existence either by some positive act or by acquiescence. People v. Campbell, 45 Misc.2d 201, 256 N.Y. S.2d 467.

@ permanent nuisance

A nuisance of such a character that its continuance is necessarily an injury which will continue without change. One that cannot be readily abated at small expense.

@ qualified nuisance

As distinguished from an "absolute nuisance," may consist of anything lawfully done or permitted to be done, so as to create a potential and reasonable risk of damage, which in due course results in injury to another. Wayman v. Board of Ed. of Akron City School Dist, 6 Ohio App.2d 94, 216 N.E.2d 637, 638.

Compare absolute nuisance.

@ temporary nuisance

A nuisance which can be corrected by the expenditure of labor or money. Pate v. City of Martin, Tenn., 614 S.W.2d 46, 48

@ nuisance at law

See nuisance per se

@ nuisance in fact

Acts, occupations or structures which are not nuisances per se but may become nuisances by reason of the circumstances of the location and surroundings or manner in which it is performed or operated. Robichaux v. Happunbauer, 258 La. 139, 245 So.2d 385, 389

@ nuisance per accidens

/n(y)uwsans par abksadenz/

See nuisance in fact

@ nuisance per se

/n(y)uwsans par siy

An act, occupation, or structure which is a nuisance at all times and under all circumstances, regardless of location or surroundings, Martin by Martin v. State, 129 Mich.App. 100, 341 N.W.2d 239, 243;

as, things prejudicial to public morals or dangerous to life or injurious to public rights; distinguished from things declared to be nuisances by statute, and also from things which constitute nuisances only when considered with reference to their particular location or other individual circumstances. The difference between a "nuisance per se" and a "nuisance per accidens" is that in the former, injury in some form is certain to be inflicted, while in the latter, the injury is uncertain or contingent until it actually occurs. State ex rel. Cunningham v. Feezell, 218 Tenn. 17, 400 S.W.2d 716, 719

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