Hello.
We are, unfortunately, in that gray zone where farmland and residential homes are kind of intermingled so a couple of our neighbors are people who have like 5 or so acres around their house, but are basitically just large residential plots. We have just over 14 acres and had been a horse boarding facility for about 9 years, then last year we quit doing that and are our own private barn. The owners before us were had also boarded horses and done some dog training as well. And even before them, the property was used to board horses. It had basically beena horse boarding facility for like 30 or so years.
We had kept a manure pile that was about 70' or so from the property line and the prevailing winds were west to east. The neighbors in question are to the north. After about three years after moving in (2016ish), they call the state to complain about the manure pile smell and so the ag department comes out to evaluate the manure pile. There are some protections as long as we follow some ag manegment practices they have outlined. They said it was voluntary, but if we followed these practices it would help protect us from nuisance claims. We decided to implement the policies which included moving the manure pile annually to a new site, and keeping it covered with tarps or straw. Though we didn't know who called the state on us, we thought it was a neighbor directly to the north since we had issues with him in the past and the previous owners had mentioned he was a real... well, not nice guy.
5 years pass, no issues, we think its smooth sailing. We have been rotating the manure pile to different spots, usually keeping it covered with some light straw, but we are constantly using and pushing the pile back. Each time I am sure can get kind of smelly. In 2021, the state is called again. They come out, see the manure pile, say the pile is "abated" which we take to mean we are following the procedures and just think the neighbors are being a-holes and harassing us and just keep on keeping on.
2022, we decide to close down the boarding business since we had some people running the barn and it was to much work for me and my wife since we both work other full time jobs. The number of horses on the property drops from like 22-25 to 9, then 8 then 7 and now we are at 6 horses plus a mini. The manure pile sits for like a year without having to add to it or anything since we have less horses and we can spread or the horses are in the pasture.
May of 2023, out of the blue we get a summons for a lawsuit because the manure pile smells. It turns out, the two neighbors to our north - the problem neighbor and one neighbor we didn't even know and never knew had a problem with the manure pile - sue us. They make all sorts of claims. The smell of the manure pile makes it so they can't enjoy their property, its attracting rats that are infesting their property, their property value has been affected, and they have emotional distress and cannot sleep at night.
My wife calls their lawyer because we have no idea whats going on and this was completely out of the blue. She asks "so is this really just about the manure pile? We can move it, no problem, we don't need it there anymore anyways, and we need to move it by July 1 anyways because its been a year." He said yes, but his clients don't want ANY manure piles on the property AT ALL. My wife was like, "well, we can't do that." Because they actually filed a lawsuit and didn't just have their lawyer send a letter, we needed to anwer the lawsuit complaint to the court. We had to retain a lawyer - which costs $15k. Luckily some family was able to help us out to scrape that much money together in a couple weeks.
In our state the statute of limitations for a nuisance lawsuit is 3 years. We have had a manure pile on the property and in that general vicinity for more than 9 years. It seemed pretty straightforward to us and our lawyer so we thought we could answer the complaint and submit a motion to dismiss the case on the basis of the statute or limitations. We did that, but the neighbors (plaintiffs) said in 2016, when state guy came out to look at the manure pile and said it was "abated" and they thought that meant it was gone and then claimed a "new" manure pile was created in 2021. Therefore, if there was a "new" manure pile in 2021, the statute of limitations have not expired and the lawsuit can move forward. At this point in the lawsuit, no evidence has been submitted, only affidavits from me and my wife and 2 of the plaintiffs, and the judge was like, "the defendants say the manure pile has been there since 2013, and the plaintiffs say its a new manure pile in 2021, I don't have any information to conclude one way or the other so the motion to dismiss is denied."
That is basiclaly where we are right now. We are thinking about trying to settle the case since it might be cheaper than carrying on, but it depends on what the neighbors are demanding. We think the plaintiffs never intended to take the case to trial and thought we would try and settle right away - but I am sure they are thinking that settlement will be to remove the manure pile completely and also ask for money to pay their legal fees. But we don't want to pay their legal fees. They should have come to us first. If they did, they would have known we would be willing to move the manure pile and it wouldn't be an issue. The money we are spending was slated to replace some fencing between our respective properties and now its being used to fight a lawsuit.
Anyways, its a sucky situation. People move out to the country and then complain about their farmer neighbors who are actually using their land. Sorry, my property is going to be perfectly manicured because I need to fix fence, change the oil in the tractor, replace a door on a stall, hang a new gate, trap raccoons that are killing my chickens and ducks, and a thousand never ending other things that need my attention. If you wanted to move to the country and live next to people who mow 3 times a week, keep their lawn perfectly manicured, then move to some place with an HOA and you can be happy.
Court cases work slowly, but if you are interested, I will keep you all abreast of how the lawsuit develops. If anyone is a lawyer and wants to help, I won't say no.
Thanks for listening to me vent.
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