Legal Question in Environmental Law in Maryland

abate a private nuisance

''The Gazette'' newspaper of College Park, MD, is distributed every Thursday onto home owners' properties, without solicitation. The incorporated city of College Park, MD pays ''The Gazette'' to make this distribution, regardless of the recipients' wishes, with taxed monies.

Neither the city of College Park nor administration at ''The Gazette'' have been able to stop the littering of my property with this unsolicited weekly newspaper.

I would like to abate this private nuisance. I would like to stop the littering on my property, firstly, then maybe I can try to abate the public nuisance of surrounding properties.

Homes adjacent to mine sometimes accumulate many weeks of these newspapers(because they are rentals)on their frontal property, and the city of College Park may charge the owners with litter violations: here the city is financing littering at taxpayers' expense and punishing property owners for their lack of attention to a weekly clean up.

Advise please.

Thank you,

Paul Goldey


Asked on 8/05/04, 8:05 pm

1 Answer from Attorneys
Michael Worsham Michael C. Worsham, Esq.

Re: abate a private nuisance

I am interested in your problem. I fought the postal service on the related issue of unwanted junk mail, and now sue junk faxers and telemarketers. Nuisance is a little harder to prove that simple trespass, which can arise from a single unwanted intrusion on the property of another. It is hard to believe they will not stop if you have asked them to. Contact me if you are interested in pursuing this.

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Answered on 8/05/04, 9:07 pm


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