Legal Question in Administrative Law in California

Do we have a case against a city that has not enforced its property maintenance codes and health codes and perhaps fire codes against my neighbor who is a hoarder? We live in an otherwise beautiful area in a very well taken care of home, and it looks like a garbage dump next to us. We are getting rats from this person's property. We've tried to get the city Code Enforcement to take action but they have been so slow that I consider it negligence. My wife is on anti-anxiety medication as a result of the extremely successful situation. We've decided to sell our home but the condition of our neighbor's property has significantly affected our ability to sell for an appropriate price. The cost to us has been large and I'd like to know if I have a case.


Asked on 6/07/13, 7:18 pm

1 Answer from Attorneys
Bryan Whipple Bryan R. R. Whipple, Attorney at Law

Have you considered a lawsuit against the neighbor? My first impression upon reading your question is that this sounds like a textbook case of "private nuisance" against the neighbor. See Code of Civil Procedure sections 3479, 3481, and 3501-3503. In any lawsuit, you might include the City as a co-defendant if the evidence shows it is shirking an enforcement duty. There are special pre-lawsuit statutory notice requirements for proposed suits against governmental entities, and initiating the pre-lawsuit process might prompt the City to take its enforcement duties more seriously. Government Code sections 900 et seq., especially section 915.

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Answered on 6/08/13, 8:21 am


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