Legal Question in Civil Litigation in California

Re: Being harassed by neighbor

Depending on how far you wish to pursue a claim

against your neighbors a lawsuit might not be

necessary. Sometimes a letter threatening a lawsuit

from a law office is all it takes for your neighbors

to leave you alone. However, it might take filing

a lawsuit against them for defamation, intentional

infliction of emotional distress, harassment or a

number of other causes of action. I had a similar

problem with my neighbors who are college students.

They continually had loud parties through 4 am in the

morning and when I would call the police they would shut

the party down right before they got there and I

would get a knock on my door accusing me of filing

a false report. They would drive by my house and

yell obscenities at my wife. It was nightmarish until

I finally sent them a letter informing them I was suing

them for harassment. They immediately stopped.

So it might just be a matter of a nasty letter

from an attorney and you might need to actually file

a lawsuit. You might never see any money from it,

but you can have the satisfaction knowing that they

had to pay an attorney to file an answer as well as

having to pay the filing fee for the answer. Just those

two things alone can cost them up to $1,000.00.

This might just be the insentive to get them to quit.

I would be happy to discuss these options with you

My phone number is 805-546-9909 or email me at [email protected]

with your name and phone number and I would be happy

to give you a call. IF you did decide to hire me one

definite advantage is I know what your going through

and that would make me go after them just a little

bit harder than the average attorney. I look forward

to hearing from you. John Hayes.

John Hayes

The John Hayes Law Offices

P.O. Box 3003

Re: Being harassed by neighbor

If it cannot be worked out privately, it sounds like it cant, then really a lawsuit is about all you can do unless you want to move.

Ken Koury

Kenneth P. Koury, Esq.

5807 Topanga Cyn Blvd., Suite G-201

Harassment by Neighbor

I think that litigation -- or at least a credible threat of litigation -- will be necessary here. Fortunately, based on what you have said, you seem to have a pretty good case.

To begin, you might consider suing for defamation. The elements of defamation are: (1) An oral or written statement; (2) Made by the defendant; (3) To a third party; (4) Falsity; (5) Injuring the plaintiff's reputation; (6) Made with no reasonable basis to believe the statement was true; and (7) The statement must not be privileged.

Assuming that there is no privilege, a report accusing you of illegal activity without reasonable belief sounds defamatory to me. A defendant who made a single such report might get the benefit of the doubt as to how reasonable his beliefs were, but a string of such false reports will pose serious problems for the defense.

Several factors go into assessing your likely recovery in such a case. Among the pertinent factors are:

Can you prove that you were harmed by the defamation? Although you can collect "general damages" without showing any actual harm, such damages are often not enough to cover the price of the litigation. By "harm" I don't mean only financial loss, but also emotional distress and demonstrable loss of reputation.

Is the defendant going to be able to pay? Even a great defamation case against a bankrupt defendant (unless the defendant has applicable insurance) won't get you anywhere. If your neighbors own their home, a heavy judgment may force them to sell. This would not only get you some money for your trouble, but might prevent future harassment. I realize, of course, that money might not be your primary concern here.

You can also sue for trespass. Legally, throwing objects onto another person's property constitutes trespass. Your damages, however, will be slight unless the objects caused you some harm. You could sue for an injunction against future trespasses, which would set the stage for more severe punishments if the behavior continues

You might also want to discuss this with the police and other agencies you mentioned. They might want to pursue your neighbors for reimbursement of the costs of their investigations. The false reports may even be criminal in certain contexts. The combined threat of a civil suit, a claim for reimbursement by the government, and a criminal prosecution for filing false reports might make your neighbors change their behavior.

You're welcome to contact me if you want to discuss this further.

Edward A. Hoffman

Attorney

Law Offices of Edward A. Hoffman

11620 Wilshire Boulevard, Suite 340

Los Angeles, CA 90025

310-575-3540

310-575-6107 (Fax)

[email protected]

Edward Hoffman

Law Offices of Edward A. Hoffman

11620 Wilshire Boulevard, #340