Legal Question in Civil Rights Law in California
I live in a condo complex & every time I play games on my computer w/the volume on, my next door neighbor complains. I have 2 speakers & a woofer; however, I have my woofer positioned on my computer's hard drive so it does not vibrate the floor & the volume is turned as low as I can get it & still be able to hear it. Doesn't one have to allow for a little bit of noise when living in this type of a dwelling? Does this mean I can never listen to music or play games on my computer with the volume on?
2 Answers from Attorneys
If you're playing these games in the middle of the night, of course that's excessive. If it's during the day, the neighbor must allow for some noise. Maybe you can challenge the neighbor to a play a round with you and he/she might not object ever again. Perhaps you can construct some kind of box to channel the sound away from the walls and directly at you... or even use good headphones to get the same effect.
You have a right to listen to sound from your speakers at a reasonable level. Reasonable is the key here. Form what you are saying, as long as it is during the day and no vibrations are occurring, then nobody can deny you the right to you own privacy. From your statement, 1 woofer and two speakers made for a computer doesn't seem like a very bass-inducing or nuisance. In my opinion, and this is just an opinion, your neighbor sounds from your statement to be nitpicking for some reason.