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.''
Time to rent a Particle Counter and put the lie to these nuts.
It IS her property and she should be able to smoke at home. As a non-smoker I find these people over the top.
I think your suggestion above is a good one. But on the other side of property (non)rights I wonder if it's actually doable. I have friends who are landlords and they say they can hardly exclude anyone as a tenant for any reason...or they'll be sued for discrimination. Despite the fact that it's their property, their hands largely tied in choosing their renters. Can one make a rental decision based on smoking criterion?
Headline, Jan 22: Smoking neighbor demands halt to couple's screwing
......and the odds of that really being the case are.............?????
"Annoyance" does not equal "health risk" 'Bout damned time people learn this.
I have a neighbor who's a royal a-hole. I have yet to seek a restraining order preventing him from being an a-hole. He's an annoyance. He doesn't risk my health (although he has occasionally risked his own by annoying me.............).
Not picking on you, by the way. Just how I see it.
It's their right! The State is oppressing them! LOL. My two favorite anecdotes regarding smoking/smokers are:
(1) One of the original Marlboro cowboys (models) was being interviewed as he was dying from lung cancer. He said that none of the Philip Morris execs who were around for some of the shoots ever smoked;
(2) Now that the major cigarette firms have been forced to raise prices to cover their settlement agreements with the states, a whole new crop (pun intended) of farmer co-ops have jumped into the business because they can provide the same (or better) quality at a lower cost for generic brands (eg Kentucky's Best, et al).
In a recent interview with one of the leading KY farmers behind this movement, he mentioned that neither he nor any of his children or his grandchildren smoked. He claimed (rightly so) that tobacco is a legal product and that everyone knows the dangers - especially his family members who had been lectured about the dangers from their childhood.
Supreme Putty?
Is that like Majestic Caulk?
Why is it that negative behavior always gets a pass.
Yes, I wasn't forced to move here, but I "assumed" that neighbors would respect one another. I was wrong. I sold my house because at my age, I couldn't keep up with all the work involved in maintaining a household and work too. I wasn't expecting to breath smoke all summer long.
I wonder why the government prohibits restaurants and factories from operating without equipment to filter the effects of what they put into the air.
Why is your door open when you're frail and elderly and suffer all these ailments, and the current temperature in Akron is 15 degrees?
Oh? It's because you need to let the dog and two cats outside, but you can't even do that because they might also smell tobacco smoke. They have asthma too.
Neat trick, that pets clause. It could only come from the conspiring minds of a cranky professor and his lawyer.
I agree - I once lived in a condo complex populated mostly by smokers and because of the close quarters there's not much you can do that doesn't somehow affect the other neighbors. It wasn't just smoke, it was noise, and headboards banging against the wall when the neighbors were frisky, etc.
Good smoking condo-neighbors will check if the windows are open before smoking under them and will try to smoke downwind of the buildings. And good non-smoking condo-neighbors will try not to be giant sphincters about the most minute particle of smoke coming into their personal space.
It just seems like a little more consideration and flexiblity from both parties in this article could go a long way toward solving the problem.
LQ
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