Legal Question in Civil Litigation in New Jersey
Neighbor fired BB gun at our window
On numerous occasions the neighbor directly behind our home has fired his BB gun into trees on his property as well as ours. (I'm assuming he's aiming at birds or squirrels)
Yesterday, I heard the familiar ''popping'' sound of his BB gun and saw that he was at it again. I left home and returned a short time later to discover that my bathroom window (directly behind one of his trees) was cracked. A BB sized indentation with cracked glass spidering from the hole. My next-door neighbors called the police prior to my finding the broken window to file a complaint. The police spoke to the neighbor and confiscated his gun. My question is, should I call the police to report my broken window? I'm afraid to confront this neighbor as he has had run-ins with other neighbors in the area and is known as a ''hot-head''. I've always been cordial to him, however, I don't know him. I'm assuming the cost of a new double-paned window would be in the area of $100.00. Any advice on how (and if) to proceed would be appreciated.
2 Answers from Attorneys
Re: Neighbor fired BB gun at our window
It seems that you already have a problem with the hothead; he destroyed your property. It seems that you have got to stop him before something worse happens. You should the police and report the damage immediately. I expect that should they come to inspect the damage they will find a bb pellet somewhere beneath the cracked window. Let the police find the pellet as evidence.
Gary Moore, Esquire
Hackensack, New Jersey
www.garymooreattorneyatlaw.com
Re: Neighbor fired BB gun at our window
Most of us like to be friendly with our neighbors. However, it seems to me that this problem is not of your choosing and that there is nothing to be gained by letting the matter pass. My experience is that neighbors like this do not get better if you give ground. You are entitled to the peaceful enjoyment of your property.
My inclination is that you should make the complaint. The time to give him a break (if any) is when the judge is about to announce sentence. You can then explain that you would be happy to just have him pay for the repairs and not shoot your way again.
The other important aspect about making a complaint is that it becomes part of the record. That way if he later does some real damage to anyone, he can't claim "I didn't know ...."
You probably already know that you should not make a claim with your homeowners' insurer for the damage.
See also: http://info.corbettlaw.net/lawguru.htm
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