I have a neighbor who is allowing his sump pump to drain into the street even though the temps stay below freezing all day now. The water drains down his driveway, runs along the side of the road and pools across the front of my entire driveway. Unless I use the lawn I can not access my property on foot or by vehicle without crossing this large patch of ice (3' wide by about 15' long. Since his sump pump runs daily it's a constant issue. The puddle is not on my property because the water stays in the street but his actions are still directly affecting my ability to enjoy my property.
The neighbor is a loose cannon and he's flat out dangerous so I'm working with town officials to get the situation taken care of. I'm wondering what my legal rights are.
I'm not sure if it has any kind of bearing on the situation but we had a no trespass order served on him earlier in the year.
Nuisance in Massachusetts
A public nuisance is a wrong that impacts the welfare of an entire community, while a private nuisance is a condition or activity that interferes with one (or more) person's enjoyment and use of her land. In general, within reason, the law attempts to protect a landowner's (or renter's) unimpeded use and enjoyment of her land. So, for example, a property owner may bring a nuisance action against a neighbor for activities that harm the physical condition of her land (flooding, vibrating, pollution, etc.) or because, instead of directly harming her property, the neighbor is interfering with the comfortable and convenient use of her land (noxious odors, noise, dust, etc).
But how about some good old-fashioned non-legal advice: Do you really want to go there? You say this guy is dangerous and then ask what private legal remedies you have against him. If I were in your shoes, I would do what you are already doing. Apply constant, polite pressure on the town to deal with the issue. As long as you can get the powers that be to assist you, it sets up a nice buffer between you and the crazy neighbor. Good luck.
I completely understand what
I completely understand what you are saying as far as wanting "to go there." The sticking point is that I’ve been accommodating to a fault for the last 4 years and he just keeps finding new ways to harass us. So it’s at the point where I need to make a stand legally so he knows he can't just keep doing things like this.
He harassed the previous owners to the point that after 40 years they gave up and moved out to get away from him. And they had been in the house for the last 60 years. I can honestly say if the housing market would come back up we'd be gone as well.
Thanks for the feedback!
Bad neighbor
You have my sympathy, and I'm not trying to make light of your situation. Still working on the theory that it is better to have a buffer between you and the crazy neighbor, you might want to talk to a lawyer in your area. Depending on what, exactly, this guy has been up to, your lawyer might be able to help you get a restraining order, file a suit for damages, and ever, I believe, get an injunction preventing your neighbor from creating ice ponds in the street. It will cost a bit of money, but you may think it's worth it. Good luck.