Also known as: public nuisances · public-nuisance
Written by attorneys · grounded in primary & secondary sources — see below
An unreasonable interference with a right common to the general public. The interference must affect the community at large in health, safety, peace, comfort, or convenience rather than a single individual.
Prime Logistics sprays liquid manure on fields next to Fairview. Strong odors and flies reach public parks, school grounds, and community events for over a year, rendering those areas unusable. Residents sue, claiming the operations interfere with rights shared by the public at large.
Spur Industries maintains a large cattle feedlot. Del E. Webb develops residential lots downwind. Prevailing winds carry flies and odors onto the new homes and surrounding public areas, prompting a suit alleging interference with rights held by the community.
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A periodical regularly publishes malicious and defamatory content. State officials seek to abate the publication as a public nuisance affecting the broader community. The action proceeds under a statute targeting such ongoing interference with public rights.
Lucas acquires coastal lots for development. A state statute later bars all construction to protect dunes and beaches. Lucas claims the total prohibition interferes with public rights in a manner that must rest on established nuisance principles rather than new regulation.
City inspectors enter a residence without a warrant to check for conditions amounting to a public nuisance. The occupant challenges the entry. The dispute centers on whether the inspection authority extends to abating interference with community-wide rights in health and safety.
American Electric Power operates coal-fired plants that emit large quantities of carbon dioxide. Several states and private parties allege the emissions create a public nuisance by interfering with rights to clean air and stable climate shared across the region.
Public nuisance interferes with a right common to the general public, such as use of public spaces or community health. Private nuisance interferes with an individual's use and enjoyment of land. The same conduct can create both when it affects both public rights and specific property interests.
Supporting sources
Government entities typically bring public nuisance actions. Private parties may sue when they suffer special harm different in kind from that experienced by the general public, such as unique economic loss from blocked access to a public resource.
Courts consider whether the conduct significantly affects public health, safety, peace, comfort, or convenience. Additional factors include whether the conduct violates a statute or regulation, continues over time, or produces permanent effects that the actor knows will substantially impair public rights.
Supporting sources
Permits and economic utility are relevant but not dispositive. When interference with public rights remains severe, continuing, and unmitigated, courts may still find a public nuisance despite regulatory approval or community benefits.
…Mugler line of cases recognizes governmental power to prohibit "noxious" uses of property i. e. , uses of property akin to "public nuisances"without having to pay compensation. But they would not have characterized the Beachfront Management Act's " primary purpose [as] the prevention of a nuisance." 304 S. C., at 395, 404 S.…