Also known as:causes a nuisance · caused a nuisance · causing a nuisance · nuisance
Written by attorneys · grounded in primary & secondary sources — see below
A nontrespassory invasion of another's interest in the private use and enjoyment of land. Liability arises when the invasion is intentional and unreasonable or unintentional yet actionable under negligence or strict liability rules.
Sources & Authorities
How it applies
Common Examples
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Dust Coating Neighbor's Property
Caitlin Crowley operates a ship-repair yard directly across a narrow inlet from Clifford Cox's waterfront home. The yard performs open-air sandblasting that sends metallic dust across the water, coating Cox's decks, windows, and furniture each night. Cox sues for private nuisance. The operations constitute a nontrespassory invasion of Cox's interest in the use and enjoyment of his land because the dust physically reaches and interferes with his property without any entry by persons or objects.
Wetlands Ban Destroys All Use
Cypress Technologies purchased inland wetlands intending to build a residential community. After purchase the city enacted an ordinance prohibiting all filling, grading, or structures on the parcel. The company sues claiming a taking. The regulation is not a taking because the prohibited uses were already barred under background principles of nuisance law that existed when the land was acquired.
Select any source to read its text and confirm it supports the definition.
Cases
Uniform Acts
Model Codes
Restatements
Casebooks
Historic Designation Blocks Development
Cobalt Energy bought wooded acreage to construct research facilities. One year later the city designated the tract a protected historic woodland and barred all tree cutting and construction. The company claims a taking. The ordinance effects a total deprivation of economically beneficial use, but the court must still consider whether preexisting nuisance principles already prohibited the intended development at the time of purchase.
Penn Central Transportation Co. et al. v. New York City438 U.S. 104, 98 S.Ct. 2646, 57 L.Ed.2d 631 (1978)
Feedlot Odors Reach New Homes
Spur Industries operated a feedlot on agricultural land for years. Del E. Webb later developed an adjacent retirement community whose residents complained of odors and flies. Webb sought an injunction. The court balanced the utility of the established feedlot against the substantial harm to the new residential uses and granted relief while requiring Webb to pay relocation costs.
Spur Industries, Inc. v. Del E. Webb Development Co.494 P.2d 700 (Ariz. 1972)
Eminent Domain for Economic Development
The City of New London condemned private homes to assemble land for a redevelopment project expected to increase tax revenue and jobs. Homeowners challenged the takings. The Court upheld the condemnations because economic development qualifies as a public use even when the land is transferred to private developers.
Kelo, et al. v. City of New London545 U.S. 469, 503 (2005)
Beach Renourishment Changes Property Lines
Florida added sand to eroded beaches under a state program that fixed the new shoreline as the boundary. Oceanfront owners claimed the addition of sand and the new boundary line effected a taking of their littoral rights. The Court held that the state action did not constitute a judicial taking because it did not eliminate an established property right under background nuisance or property principles.
Stop the Beach Renourishment, Inc. v. Florida Department of Environmental Protection, et al.560 U.S. 702 (2010)
Common questions
Frequently Asked
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What must a plaintiff show to establish that conduct causes a private nuisance?+
The plaintiff must prove a nontrespassory invasion of the interest in private use and enjoyment of land that is either intentional and unreasonable or unintentional and otherwise actionable. The invasion must be legally caused by the defendant's affirmative conduct or failure to act when under a duty to abate.
Supporting sources
Does regulatory compliance prevent liability for causing a nuisance?+
No. Compliance with permits or air-quality standards does not automatically defeat a nuisance claim when the plaintiff shows actual substantial interference with use and enjoyment. Courts may still find the invasion unreasonable after balancing harm against utility.
Supporting sources
When may a plaintiff recover damages for public nuisance caused by another's conduct?+
A plaintiff may recover only upon showing special harm different in kind from that suffered by the general public. Economic loss unique to the plaintiff's business, such as near-total loss of customers due to odors blocking access, satisfies the requirement.
Supporting sources
How does the total regulatory takings doctrine interact with nuisance principles?+
A regulation that eliminates all economically beneficial use is a per se taking unless the prohibited uses were already barred by background principles of nuisance or property law at the time of acquisition. The background nuisance limitation prevents compensation when the use was never lawful.
Supporting sources
272 U.S. 365, 47 S.Ct. 114, 71 L.Ed 303 (1926)Property
…the erection of a building of a particular kind or for a particular use, like the question whether a particular thing is a nuisance, is to be determined, not by an abstract consideration of the building or of the thing considered apart, but by considering it in connection with the circumstances and the locality.…