Legal Question in Civil Litigation in Pennsylvania

Harassment

My next door neighbor has been doing everything possible to drive us nuts. He has a poor track record with the police and rest of the neighborhood. We are now his target. He continually calls police for bogus things puts letters in our front door stating lies of conversations we never had, saying we throw garbage everywhere now he he has called the township stating we have an illegal business in our home. What can we do to make him just stop and leave us alone. The police know he is crazy along with his family but no one can seem to stop him. He pushes to just inches of actually doing something illegal. He eggs my husband on by yelling at him from his yard, gets in my face about things. I need to have him stop and leave us alone!! Please help


Asked on 1/07/09, 12:32 am

1 Answer from Attorneys

Roger Traversa Arjont Group (Law Office of Roger Traversa)

Re: Harassment

You asked about stopping an annoying neighbor.

There are some books written on this subject that you should take the time to read. All public libraries have a selection of them as this is a common issue.

There are many means to stop the harrasment. Some are less onerous than others.

-Try being pleasant to the person. It is likely that he gets some enjoyment from getting your dander up. Wave hello, greet him cheerily, and ignore him.

-If he insists on making a complaint, stop him mid-sentence, tell him to write it down and MAIL it to you. That you will not read matter unless sent through the mail. If he leaves a letter, don't read it. If it's not worth $0.42 for him to publish the matter, then it isn't worth your effort to read it.

-Make it clear that if his conduct persists you will ban him from your property, and then if he sets foot he can be arrested for trespass.

-If he makes complaints that are completely baseless then you could look at filing a charge of malicious prosecution.

Depending on how matters shape up will determine when you need to speak with an attorney.

Regards,

Roger

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Answered on 1/07/09, 2:14 pm


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