Posted on 01/24/2004 9:17:05 AM PST by mylife
Couple demands halt to neighbor's smoking Restraining order sought over nuisance to health By Phil Trexler Beacon Journal staff writer
Robert Zangrando has had it up to his chest, nose and eyes with his neighbor's smoking and he's taking her to court to get her to quit.
Zangrando, a retired University of Akron history professor who lives in Stow, was in Summit County court Thursday with his wife and lawyer.
Together they are seeking a restraining order against his next-door neighbor, Nicole Kuder, 28, that would prohibit her from smoking outdoors within 30 feet of her condominium.
Zangrando, 71, and his wife, UA instructor Lisa A. Pace, contend the smoking affects their health and has become a nuisance.
Before the hearing, Kuder said, ``I have tried to accommodate them, and this is the result.''
The couple's attorney, Ed Gilbert, called the situation an emergency and wanted Common Pleas Judge Marvin Shapiro to rule immediately on the restraining order request. Shapiro declined because Kuder came to court without an attorney.
Akron attorney Tom Adgate was retained by Kuder just before the hearing and was unable to attend. Shapiro delayed ruling until the hearing resumes Tuesday with Kuder and her attorney.
Kuder and Zangrando have been neighbors in a condominium complex on Higby Drive for about two years. Their two-story units are separated only by a shared wall. They share a front porch, and a wooden fence separates their back doors.
Zangrando said his neighbor's cigarette smoking is apparent whenever he opens a window or steps outside his home. He said the fumes compromise his health, causing him to wheeze and cough.
He said he suffers from lung problems, including emphysema, and has had asthma in the past. He said the smoking is such that he is reluctant to let his dog or two cats outside.
``It hits you right away, the minute you walk out the door. It catches me, I start coughing, I know she's smoking, I can see she's smoking visually, and I can get the effects of the smoke when I inhale what should be fresh air in my own back patio,'' Zangrando told the judge.
Kuder rents the condo she and her family live in and is not permitted to smoke inside the unit. Zangrando and Pace have owned their unit since marrying in 1996.
``It's a constant reality. She's out there smoking, and I have been appealing to her since she first moved: Please, if you're going smoke, would you move away from the house because the fumes come in our house, and we no longer have discretionary use of our house,'' Zangrando told the judge.
He said he has tried for more than a year to convince Kuder to smoke elsewhere, to no avail. He said he tried to reach an agreement in October, but Kuder and her husband, who does not smoke, refused to sign.
Kuder said Zangrando wanted her to walk to a nearby parking lot to smoke. She said he snoops on her, photographs her movements and has yelled at her to ``go, kill my family'' with her cigarettes.
``I tried to be nice and go out back and compromise, but they constantly harass us,'' Kuder said outside court. ``There have been times when I've had friends over, and he comes out screaming at us. It bothers me, but at the same time, I try to be a respectful smoker.''
Then I'd sue them for harassment, filing a false claim with the court, and libel.
No, it's not even remotely likely. The notion that the miniscule amount of cigarette smoke that drifts to a next-door condominimum, OUTDOORS, is a health risk, is ludicrous. They may smell it, but the ability to smell something most certainly does not equate with it being harmful. What if the smoker cooks on his backyard grill and uses a lot of garlic? You can smell that too. Outlaw garlic? We should all be ashamed of ourselves for letting idiots take over our nation.
MM, non-smoker
I'd suggest he move. Alternatively, he can approach the owner of this adjacent unit, buy it, and evict this lady. He can then stipulate in his next rental contract that only nonsmokers can rent the property.
Simple enough.
If you *read* the article, you will see that this woman has bent over backwards to be a considerate smoker. She's not going into his home and smoking, and I don't think he owns the air around her home. My take on this thing is that he's a pervert, and probably a stalker.
If I were the plaintiff defendant...
The police told her that there was nothing he could do because we were in our own yard and were violating no local ordinances.
She took to standing in her yard and YELLING at us every time we went out, whether we were grilling or not.
Thank goodness we moved about 6 months after this started, or I think she would have tried to sue us.
Who says she has to smoke at all?
How much smoking can this guy be doing to be choking on it from outside?
The guy's got major lung issues. It doesn't take much to set them off. This is something I can attest to personally -- if your lungs are already "twitchy" from something else, cigarette smoke can really shut you down.
I would get a gas grill and stoke it with pine straw, they would REALLY have something to complain about then.
Why do smokers believe that their tobacco smoke is a blessing to others? Why do they believe that the results of their addiction should be tolerated, if not enjoyed, by non-addicts? It is jus like the kid who plays his boom box at max, whether on the street, in his car, or in the apartment next door.
What is puzzling here is why the addict has to go out on the balcony to smoke and does not smoke in her apartment. Is it because she has a child she doesn't want to poision? Does her "room-mate" dislike smoking that much? This honey should have the mental strength to quit and screw the state out of the tax revenue.
Yup. I expected as much.
However, he owns, she rents, and he was there first.
And now you're suggesting that this fellow actually ought to buy the place.
IOW, you're basically placing the costs for her stupid, smelly behavior on the guy who it's bothering.
This is the typically libertarian response: the smoker has no responsibility for what she's doing to others, and the guy next door has to accept it all, and pay for it, too.
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