Legal Question in Real Estate Law in California
I am selling my luxury home for in excess of one million dollars. The new neighbors next door recently began construction of a concrete skatepboard half pipe very close to our shared fence. The noise will be unbearable in a quiet rural community of mostly retired people (no HOA) who will also be affected by the noise nuisance. Once I disclose this nuisance to any prospective buyer my feeling is that they understandably will not purchase an expensive home next to this skateboard ramp. What are my legal avenues? Can I sue for damages in the loss of the ability to sell my home at the market price or indeed at any price?
2 Answers from Attorneys
Research the local laws regarding noise and don't put the cart before the horse. You can't do anything pro-actively, but you can record the noise when and if it starts. Hopefully it won't be as bad as you are predicting.
The answer to "can I sue" is usually yes; however, the real question is whether you'll win. I can see two possible legal theories upon which a successful case might be built. The first is that there may be some local ordinance in your city, town or perhaps county that restricts activities that create noise, and possibly such ordinance might be stretched to cover noise from outdoor amusement facilities such as this half pipe. I'd say offhand the likelihood of finding an ordinance that'd cover this source of noise might be in the 10%-25% area, but local communities differ and local inquiry would be necessary. The other possibility is that the noise generated may constitute a "private nuisance" (or perhaps even a "public nuisance", but this is even less likely) which could result in your getting injunctive relief. I'd guess that proceeding under a private nuisance theory might be your better choice, but again, before the complaint is filed and served, your lawyer should review recent cases involving recreational noise, or the likelihood thereof, as a basis for injunctive relief.