Nuisance

Nuisance is a tort that protects against unreasonable interference with the use and enjoyment of property. It comes in two forms: private nuisance and public nuisance.

Private nuisance involves a substantial and unreasonable interference with an individual's use and enjoyment of their land. Courts balance the gravity of the harm against the utility of the defendant's conduct, considering factors such as the nature of the interference, the character of the neighborhood, the duration and frequency of the intrusion, and the social value of both parties' activities.

Public nuisance involves an unreasonable interference with a right common to the general public. To have standing for a private action, a plaintiff must show special damages distinct from those suffered by the public at large.

Remedies include damages, injunctions, or a combination. In Boomer v. Atlantic Cement, the court issued a landmark ruling allowing the nuisance to continue upon payment of permanent damages, rather than granting an injunction that would shut down the defendant's factory. This approach recognized that the social costs of an injunction (loss of jobs, economic impact) could outweigh the harm to the plaintiff.

The "coming to the nuisance" defense — that the plaintiff moved to the nuisance rather than the nuisance coming to them — is generally not a complete defense but may be considered in the balancing analysis. Spur Industries v. Del E. Webb established that a court may enjoin a nuisance even when the plaintiff came to it, but require the plaintiff to indemnify the defendant.