Neighbors Sue for Horse Manure Pile Smell

[4Liberty]

yep, but running a trucking company, excavation business, school buses, horse lesson barn, firewood processing and others may not be compliant with local ordinances.

If the farm moved in a started doing all that stuff in an area zoned residential I could see your point. Since residents moved in next to the farm and started complaining about farming activity I can’t. This is why a lot of farmers quit, or their kids just get tired of dealing with it and don’t want to. Regulate that.

 

[RjCorazza]

How about - intolerable consequences for any persons bad behavior. To include frivolous law suits.

That is exactly what I am saying. It seems to me that frivolous lawsuits are just dismissed without consequence unless there is a long history of them.

 

[buckeyefarmer]

I have horses boarded next door to me. I don’t know what they do with their manure, but I have never smelled it in the 26 years I’ve lived beside them.

 

[Eagle1]

Maybe you're just not whiny enough?

 

[3 Horse Ranch]

We had a similar thing happen here a few years back actually several times. People move in next to farms and complain about stinky stuff. Racetracks there since the beginning of racing have people move in and complain about noises. If your attorney is worth his salt there’s a lot of cases on record out there thrown out without going to court based on what people should have had common sense to know when they moved in next to a farm.

In Washington State there is a form that is included with the escrow papers that basically says that the purchased property is in an area with farms, mining or industry, as a result may include smells, noises, traffic and dust. The form is signed and included with the county paper work. It cuts down on a lot of law suits.
In the spring the dairy farmers use the liquid manure that has been aging in the lagoon for 6 months and spray it on their silage fields with ag sprinklers. Within a mile down wind, it can curl your nose hair and make your eyes water. I lived near a silage field. Happily, the farmer used a slice in system that sprayed the manure directly into the slice. It smelled bad the day he was doing it and abated after that. Three days later, it wasn't even noticeable.
When people would complain to about the smell, the dairy farmers answer was "it smells like money."

 

[4Liberty]

I have horses boarded next door to me. I don’t know what they do with their manure, but I have never smelled it in the 26 years I’ve lived beside them.

We have horses and as far as manure goes there is very little smell if anything once you get past it getting rained on. Maybe the OP should consider starting a pig or turkey operation so the accusations could be worthwhile but still pointless at the same time.

 

[Jstpssng]

In Washington State there is a form that is included with the escrow papers that basically says that the purchased property is in an area with farms, mining or industry, as a result may include smells, noises, traffic and dust. The form is signed and included with the county paper work. It cuts down on a lot of law suits.
In the spring the dairy farmers use the liquid manure that has been aging in the lagoon for 6 months and spray it on their silage fields with ag sprinklers. Within a mile down wind, it can curl your nose hair and make your eyes water. I lived near a silage field. Happily, the farmer used a slice in system that sprayed the manure directly into the slice. It smelled bad the day he was doing it and abated after that. Three days later, it wasn't even noticeable.
When people would complain to about the smell, the dairy farmers answer was "it smells like money."

Years ago I was working someplace in Vermont, traveling past an ice cream shop surrounded by fields. It was early spring and they were spraying those fields while the ice cream shop just kept serving customers. Back then I was apt to stop and get something for the ride home, but I never stopped there.

I have horses boarded next door to me. I don’t know what they do with their manure, but I have never smelled it in the 26 years I’ve lived beside them.

I would be that neighbor they hated. Every October I’d be knocking on their door saying “Mind if I get a few trailer loads of ***t?”

 

[MH8675309]

This is to protect the Realtors from nuisance lawsuits. The disclosure may make it easier for the defendant(respondent) to prevail, it will not stop the suits. The only thing that stops those suits are laws that punish the person suing AND the lawyer they used for filing a frivolous suit in the first place.

No - when people buy they sign the form as an acknowledgement that they are aware of farming in the area. This is proof that they knew going in that the property is near farm operations that include noise dust odors etc. This law is to keep people from shutting down farms over natural effects of farm operations. It may protect a real estate agent from a suit too but its main purpose is to protect an existing farm. The case study shows how this evolved over a period of time

 

[Torvy]

No - when people buy they sign the form as an acknowledgement that they are aware of farming in the area. This is proof that they knew going in that the property is near farm operations that include noise dust odors etc. This law is to keep people from shutting down farms over natural effects of farm operations. It may protect a real estate agent from a suit too but its main purpose is to protect an existing farm. The case study shows how this evolved over a period of time

You are confusing the stated purpose, protecting farmers, with the actual purpose, protecting realtors. People still sue the farmers maybe they win, maybe they lose. The suits are a problem even if you win. Costs, both monetary and time affect farmers despite the law. Realtors, though, don't get sued anymore because their only risk would be not telling a buyer about a problem. Lawyers will not take the case against a realtor because the signed declaration covers them.

 

[2manyrocks]

That is exactly what I am saying. It seems to me that frivolous lawsuits are just dismissed without consequence unless there is a long history of them.

We have a local judge who is the opposite. He doesn't seem to want to dismiss anything for fear that the court of appeals will tell him he has to hear it and mess up his golf schedule. When he is involved, it seems to be settle or go to trial.