Also known as: nuisance · nuisances · nuisance law · private nuisance · public nuisance
Written by attorneys · grounded in primary & secondary sources — see below
A body of common law rules that addresses nontrespassory invasions of another's interest in the private use and enjoyment of land. Liability arises only to those who hold property rights in the affected land and only when the interference is substantial.
Lila Lin owns a home next to a factory operated by Legacy Motors. The factory releases chemical odors and vibrations that prevent Lila from using her backyard for gardening or entertaining. Because the invasion is nontrespassory and substantially impairs her use and enjoyment of the land, the law of nuisance supplies her with a cause of action against Legacy Motors.
Logan Lane buys oceanfront land intending to build a home. A state regulation later bars all construction to prevent erosion that would harm neighboring properties. Because the prohibited use already constituted a nuisance under background principles of property law, the regulation does not require compensation as a taking.
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Luke Latham purchases land in a residential zone and plans a commercial warehouse. The village enacts a zoning ordinance restricting the parcel to single-family homes. The ordinance is sustained because it rests on the same considerations that would support a nuisance action against incompatible uses.
Lucy Liu owns a home and wants her grandchildren to live with her. A city ordinance limits occupancy to nuclear families. The restriction is upheld because it prevents overcrowding that would interfere with neighbors' use and enjoyment of their property in the same manner as a common-law nuisance.
Spur Industries operates a cattle feedlot in a remote area. Del E. Webb later builds a residential community nearby and sues for nuisance caused by odors. The court balances the equities and requires Spur to relocate while ordering Webb to pay part of the cost because the developer came to the nuisance.
Penn Central owns Grand Central Terminal and seeks to build an office tower above it. The city designates the terminal a landmark and denies the permit. The restriction is sustained because it prevents a use that would constitute a nuisance to the surrounding historic district.
Private nuisance requires a nontrespassory invasion that interferes with use and enjoyment of land. Trespass involves an actual entry onto the land. The distinction determines whether the plaintiff must prove substantial interference or merely unauthorized entry.
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Only persons who hold property rights or privileges in the affected land may recover. This includes possessors and holders of easements or nonpossessory estates that are detrimentally affected.
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Zoning ordinances are often upheld by analogy to nuisance principles. A use that would constitute a nuisance at common law supplies a legitimate basis for restricting that use through zoning.
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Coming to the nuisance is not an absolute defense. Courts balance the equities and may require the defendant to abate the nuisance while allocating costs to the plaintiff who developed after the nuisance began.
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A regulation that eliminates all economically beneficial use is not a taking if the prohibited use was already barred by background principles of nuisance or property law at the time of acquisition.
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…In solving doubts, the maxim sic utere tuo ut alienum non laedas , which lies at the foundation of so much of the common law of nuisances, ordinarily will furnish a fairly helpful clew. And the law of nuisances, likewise, may be consulted, not for the purpose of controlling, but for the helpful aid of its analogies in the…