Public nuisance lawyers are used in some cases where there are unreasonable or unlawful uses of properties in ways that cause harm to others since it prevents them from enjoying such.
It is action grounded within tort law that does involve conduct, which can include noises that are loud, dust, smoke, fumes, too much light, and so on and so forth, and it may include gambling or even prostitution.
There are some nuisances both public and private. Sometimes, they do interfere with public spaces. Others are more private.
Some public nuisances might include:
- Spills that affect entire communities.
- Garbage dumps that are pungent in the entire time
- Obscene graffiti
- An accident that causes vehicles to be stranded or obstruct main roads for days.
Private nuisances are those that are most on a private property that are annoying, such as if a tree falls into the driveway and the neighbor refuses to fix this, or if the neighbor lets the dog bark through the night on the regular.
Requirements for Public Nuisance
Unlike private nuisances, only two types of plaintiffs are there.
Typically, these are filed on federal, local, or state levels to protect the general public.
These can include the EPA, state parks, municipalities, and other entities that matter.
The Public does need to put out appropriate public official requests and requests that they do give legal action on behalf of others, then the public officials will determine if a lawsuit is valid, and how to take over the case going forward.
Depending on the case facts they may also file charges against specific entities or individuals that cause the nuisance.
The second type may be individuals that have dealt with harm deriving from this, but it also does give different damage to them than to others who might be affected.
For example, the town might bring a suit to a chemical plant that’s dumping and endangering the lives. But also, the other person can sue too not just for the endangerment, but also for the fact that because of the dumping, it’s depreciating their home value.
Public officials and individuals are the only ones that can bring a suit against public nuisance. While it may impact the public, whether or not it’s a nuisance does depend on the laws too, with the outcomes varying.
A final part to this is that nuisances also can be a kind of injury that begins class action lawsuits, but may not be the cause of action. While it may lead to public lawsuits, it’s not the legal basis that public officials will sue on. For example, setting off fireworks throughout the night is a public nuisance, but they may try to convict the defendant under the offense of “disturbing the peace.”
Relief against This
There are some consequences that people may face in some instances for this.
For example, injunctions, which do require the person who is offending to not carry out the action, which is stopping the harmful activity.
If the nuisance involves necessary activities the court might allow it to continue, but they will need to compensate the plaintiffs for the harm, especially in the form of monetary damages that are awarded because of specific harm that differs from the community as well.
They also can cause criminal charges as well, especially if there is a crime going on or something enacted, where they might face specific consequences for a type of crime, including criminal fines, a prison sentence, and also putting this on probation too, which can be a big problem too.