Throwing Snow In Neighbors Yard? Illegal? LONG!! (2024 Update)

[MICHELLE H.]

Hello Everyone,

I am new here and am looking for some help or information please. Unfortunately, I do not live in the country, but I wish I did, I hate the city. If I could afford it, I would move to the country and away from all the hustle-bustle, traffic, and people.

I found this group when I was doing a search at Google for "problem neighbors" so I guess I will post my problem here. I live in a "old" residential part of the city where the homes in the neighborhood are all right next to one another. The homes are probably about 30 feet from one another. Well as you guessed it, my problem is with one of my neighbors.

My neighbor who lives to the right of me is the problem. His driveway is on the right side of my home where the grassy area is ( my driveway is on the the left side of my house ). His driveway is about 12 feet wide, then he has 2 feet of ( grass ) property line, and the rest of the yard to my house is my property.

On my grassy area, I have some flowers, rose bushes, 2 small dwarf Alberta trees, a small pine tree and another small decorative tree. One of the things that really angers me is that I take alot of pride and do alot of hard work to keep my yard clean and looking nice, and he knows this because he is always watching me all the time, because he is always home, 24 hours a day, because he is collecting disability income from the government because of is "bad back".

Anyway one of the things he does is he stands out on his small back porch about every ten minutes and smokes his white Marlboro Lights, and when he gets done, he throws his cigarette butts over into my yard!!! I will go to bed at nightime, and wake up the next morning and go outside to water my plants and flowers and there will be like 7 white smoke butts on my lawn. WHY can't he throw them in his backyard?? WHY can't he put them in a jar or a bucket?? NO, he throws them in my yard. I usually pick up the stupid cig. butts and throw them away but what I did a few weeks ago was start counting how many cig. butts he is throwing into my yard. I started picking them up on Monday all the way to Sunday. One week there was 63 in my yard. The next week there were 57, and another week there were 65. So basically he is throwing about 60 cig. butts a week into MY yard, not to mention his cigarette wrappers as well!!!

Now I doubt that there is anykind of law to prevent him from doing this, but hopefully there is for my next question. In the winter he uses his snowblower and blows all the snow from his driveway into my yard. He runs the snowblower so high that snow hits the side of my house and my windows. If we have a big snowstorm, all the snow in my yard, plus his from his driveway, will bury my basement windows, my flowers, and my two small dwarf Alberta Spruce trees. I can't understand WHY he has to throw the snow over into my yard?? WHY can't he blow the snow down his driveway and into his backyard??

He aims the snowblower toward my home and blows the snow into my yard, onto my freshly shoveled front stairs, and my freshly shoveled front sidewalk, where if someone were to fall down in front of my home, I would be sued because of HIS SNOW!!!

Last year he was blowing the snow over into my yard, and a rock from his driveway shot out from his snowblower and hit the side of my house!! Now, I have TRIED to be NICE and have talked to him about this. In the summer, he complained to me that the branches on my pine tree and my flowering pear tree were growing toward his driveway, and that he didn't want them to scratch his mini-van and pickup truck. So I decided to be nice and I trimmed the branches growing toward his driveway nice and short so that they were out of his way and there were no more problems.

So the other day when we got 4 inches of snow, he was out there bright and early blowing the snow into my yard. So I went out there and NICELY asked him WHY he has to blow the snow into my yard and against my house, and he said "because he wants to clear his driveway, and doesn't want to walk in the snow". So then I told him that I don't want him to blow the snow into my yard and against my house because last year a rock came flying out from his snowblower and hit the side of my house, and I don't want to get any broken windows or holes in my new vinyl siding. So then he said "its only snow, it'll melt, what are you gonna do about it?" So instead of losing my temper and doing something that I would regret, I walked away.

So, it was okay when he complained about my trees branches, I was the nice person and trimmed them right up for him, but when I aksed him to NOT throw snow into my yard, he was a total JERK about it.

So does anyone know if there are any laws what-so-ever about snowblowing snow into someone elses yard??

Thanks for reading all this and listening to me vent out my frustration, and for any info. you might be able to give me.

P.S. Alot of you are probably thinking why I don't just put up a fence. I already got a few estimates LAST SPRING and because the property line is long on the sides of our homes it will be $1700 dollars to install a 6 foot wooden stockade fence right down the property line and unfortunately I don't have an extra $1700 for a fence right now, but when I do get it, you can bet there will be one going up. But for now, WHAT can I do??

Thanks!!

[Travis M.]

Crawl back under your rock troll bitch.

[Dennis Mayer]

It sounds like you both have to give in 'a little more'.

The only sin your neighbor has committed is bouncing snow off the side of your home using his snow blower. The chute can be adjusted downward.. Ask the neighbor politely.

Every neighbor I know in snow country allows neighbors snow over the lot line. You seem too picky... Can you overlook minor items?

[Doug Kanter]

First of all, based on the layout you describe, you're never going to achieve a 100% no-snow goal here. But:

In most locales, a judge will enforce civil trespass laws to stop someone from introducing any substance or object onto a neighbor's property. Trespass does not apply only to the unlawful entry of people. However, it's usually enforced for such things as pesticides, or a neighbor's kid's baseball repeatedly coming too close to you while you're at your picnic table. You're not likely to get anywhere with the police in terms of the snow. So, find a happy medium here:

1) Tell him to aim the chute lower and stop hitting the house. Offer to show him how some of the controls work on the machine. Explain that if he can't manage this, then you assume he's prepared to pay for any damage to siding or windows if a rock is included with the snow. He should be particularly alarmed with the siding issue because you'd want a perfect color match for the repaired section, right? If the siding's old, that could mean redoing the whole house. Oh my. Thousands of dollars.

2) Plants: Do some research and find out if, in your climate, it's a good thing for your PARTICULAR plants to have some snow cover. Often, it is. If so, leave the issue alone unless the weight of the snow is damaging branches. In that case, negotiate. If that doesn't work, call the cops while he's operating his machine.

3) Your porch/sidewalk: Same as #1. Better aim.

4) Cigarette butts: Buy the cheapest large can of coffee you can find, and a small bag of cat litter. Use the coffee, or throw it away if it's awful. Put the cat litter in the can, bring it to him, and tell him to use his new ash tray. Don't ask. Tell him. If you find one more butt, call the cops.

Beyond this, forget trying to keep ALL his snow off your property. It's not going to happen. Your only other possible option is to put up snow fence in the winter. It might be tall enough that his machine won't be able to throw the snow over it. And, it's cheap & reusable.

[Wolf Kirchmeir]

[...]

The neighbour is committing a nuisance, to use English terminoloy - there is an equivalent American term, but I don't know what it is. Get legal advice on what you can do about it.

The question is whether taking legal action will slap down the jerk, or whether it will, er, inspire him to escalate his boorishness. One of the responders to your plaint used an obscenity, which indicates he's an American Wussy - the kind of man who is terrified of women, usually because of his own ambiguous sexuality. It's quite possible that your neighbour belongs to same pathetic minority, in which case it will be difficult to find the best way to deal with him. Such people aren't rational.

[bigjon]

What he is doing is not strictly illegal, but very antisocial. You can ignore it and get a life, or fight fire with fire.

Get yourself a video recorder and video his physical movements (not through the windows of his property, but him in his yard. Once you have at least three accounts of his exertions, turn the tapes and a covering ("anon" if you want) letter to the relevant authority for fraudulent disability payments.

Or, you can collect up those butts and return them to his porch on a daily basis. He will soon get fed up picking them all up. Get yourself a sno blower (or a shovel and a few hours) and send the snow back. Do everything he does back to him - if it's ok in his mind for him to do it, it should be ok for you to do it.

Of course, this will antagonise him and you will be at war.... not much fun, I can tell you.

[Doug Kanter]

I suppose she could also hire someone with a plow, and have an eight foot wall of snow moved into his driveway.

[zxcvbob]

That's my favorite idea yet.

Best regards, Bob

[Doug Kanter]

If she picked the day right, in terms of weather, she could then hose down the snow pile, thereby creating nice, thick ice crust which would make it a total pain in the ass to deal with. :-)

[MICHELLE H.]

Hey Everyone,

THANKS for ALL of the great responses and info., I really do appreciate it!! I actually feel a little bit better now that I have "vented". I think taking pictures and using a video camera is definitely a good start, so that I have proof. You know, I do know that like he said "its only snow, and it'll melt", but why run the snowblower so high that it hits my house? I can let the blowing the snow onto my grass "slide", but not when it is hitting my siding and windows, landing on my front stairs, and front sidewalk, or burying my 2-3 foot dwarf Alberta Spruce trees that I just planted this past spring, or burying my 3 basement windows.

Why the basement windows? Because my laundry room is in the basement and I do the laundry down there during the day, and if the windows are buried, no natural light comes in, and I have to waste electricity during the day by having the basement lights on.

Also, someone asked where I find the time to pickup and count the Cigarette butts? Thats because he stands on his small back porch and faces my house and stares at my house (or at me everytime I am outside) and almost always throws the cig. butts in the same area, directly across from where he is standing on his back porch and into my yard.

So what I was doing was when I was raking the leaves this past fall, I would have 2 barrels/paper leaf bags with me. He doesn't rake his leaves and so they all blow over into my yard. So I was going out every single day ( Monday-Sunday ) and raking the leaves and cig. butts up into a separate piles. I would throw the leaves into 1 barrell/bag and the cig. butts into the other bag/barrell.

Then each day I would throw them into a mason jar after I picked them all up. Well like I said, there were at least 7-10 in my yard per day. I did this for 3 weeks and week #1 there were 63 total, week #2 there were #57, and week #3 there were 65. So right now there is snow on the ground, and of course I can't see them, because Marlboro Lights are White cigarettes, but I figure that by time spring gets here in April (

5 months from now ) and all the snow is melted, ( and at 60 cig. butts a week that he throws into my yard ) there will be roughly 1,600 cigarette butts on my property.

I have all his stinky cig. butts that I collected over the 3 weeks in a mason jar and was thinking of wrapping it up and giving it to him or mailing it to him as a Christmas present!!!

NO, I am only kidding!!!!!!

Someone also asked me "WHY worry about the cigartte butts, because when I mow my lawn, they will just get chewed up by the lawnmower". In regards to the Cigerette butts, they have filters, and they will not just grind up and disappear as if they were field stripped. You can't just grind up the cigarette butts with the mower as someone told me.

The cigarettes have those hard cotton filters, and they almost NEVER break down. With all the cigarette butts that my jerk neighbor throws over here, I HAVE run them over with my lawnmower to try to get rid of them, but the hard cotton filters just spit right back out. So unless I pick them up by hand, they will be there forever.

I like the idea on someone checking on his Disability, because he claims he has a "bad back" but I have seen him #1 mow his lawn in the summer, #2 change the oil in his truck and mini-van in the driveway, #3 carry and stack firewood this past fall in his backyard, #4 carry tables down his driveway to his front yard to set up a tag sale, #5 dig a vegetable garden with a garden hoe, and #6 carry bag of grocerys and big bags of dog food into his home, to name only a few. And both his lawnmower and snowblower are NOT an electric start, its one of those where he has to pull the rope.

Thanks Everybody!!!

[Doug Kanter]

Keep in mind that some people are raised as pigs, by older pigs, and are totally unsocialized. I used to have neighbors whose teenage daughter would go out for ice cream with her friends almost every night, and as she returned, she and her pig friends would toss ice cream cups, plastic spoons and napkins out the car window. When we spoke to her father, who was also a pig, and explained that we didn't appreciate trash all over the lawn & street, he acted like this was a revelation.

You may need to train your pig. This process is sometimes more effective if you lead him by the nose to the conclusion that any behavioral changes were his idea. If you reach the point of calling the police, they'll probably ask if you've tried talking to the pig. At least you can say you did.

Try this:

You: Listen, is there a good reason why you keep tossing your cigarette butts onto my lawn?

That's it. Shut up, and stare at him. It's a totally open-ended question which requires that he either speak, or slam the door in your face. There is no possible good reason, so no matter what he says, you respond "I'm sorry. I must not have made myself clear. I said 'a GOOD reason'. Is there one?" He may actually stop doing it. If not, call the cops. You've done all you can.

[bigjon]

ROFL

[Doug Kanter]

I've learned quite a bit from years of creating huge snow ramps for my son and his friends. :-)

[Anonny Moose]

Michelle, this guy is a classic bully. I'm afraid he's tested you and found you to be an easy victim. Check online for strategies to deal with bullies. You'll pull up a lot of hits for child bullies, but look for office bullies and you'll find more relevant info. I think you'll have to push him right back to slow him down until you can afford that fence. Don't let his stares intimidate you. Does he have a wife you can talk reasonably with?

[Valkyrie]

The first thing you need to do is call your state disability office, they usually have a fraud hotline. When you give them his name and address they will #1 say, "not our problem" or #2 send out an investigator. If you do decide to do some video taping yourself I wouldn't be obvious about it. The guy isn't balanced and no telling what harm you may come to if he feels you are "spying". IF this guy is on disability, and depending on how long he's been milking this, and if fraud is proven he'll most likely have his house for sale soon to pay back the gubmint checks and legal fees while he sits in jail for a little time out to think about the error of his ways. Then you'll probably get brand new neighbors who are very friendly, smile and wave at you a lot and never clear snow......or mow their lawn, have fighting, screaming kids, loud cars and stereos, toss beer cans instead of cigarette butts and constantly barking dogs.

Val

[sockiescat]

I suppose she could also hire someone with a plow, and have an eigh foot wall of snow moved into his driveway.

That's my favorite idea yet.

Best regards, Bob

If she picked the day right, in terms of weather, she could then hos down the snow pile, thereby creating nice, thick ice crust which would mak it a total pain in the ass to deal with. :-)

ROFL

there is one law that might stand against your neighbour it is called

"Private Nuisance Law". no person is allowed by law to interfere with the enjoyment of you property or put anything on your property without your express verba or written permission. here is a link that might be able to help you

sockiesca

-- sockiescat

[Chuckie]

Whatever you do, don't do any thing you could possibly get sued over. Chuckie in the frozen north zone 5

[William Brown]

If you think this is a real problem, and are willing to live with some possible escalation, then it is time to do something. Most of the suggestions posted here will cost you something, and since you said you don't want to put up a fence because of cost, I am thinking you don't want to spend a lot of money on this.

Since you have already talked to him without result, I think you should save the jar of butts, wait until the next time he is snowblowing against your home, and call the police. I live in a suburb with a very good police force, and they would come out and talk to both of you, and probably explain to him how to adjust his snowblower and to keep his butts to himself. If he lies to the officer about the butts, pull out your stash and suggest that they can be tied to him by DNA. At that time your neighbor will be on weak ground vis a vis the police (in many places, giving a false statement to the police is a crime), and I think they should deal with him more forcefully. Keep a note of the officer's name and the date, and if your neighbor repeats his infractions, call the police again and mention that officer x had already tried to deal with this on this date, and you really want it stopped.

On the other hand, if you don't have a good police force, I suggest you hire an attorney just to write a cease and desist letter to your neighbor and have it delivered by certified mail. This will cost a bit, but it shouldn't be too much, and I think it is fair to say that most people receiving such a letter would get nervous. Have the attorney give you a copy of the letter with the proof of delivery in case things escalate.

Turn> Hey Everyone,

[MICHELLE H.]

He does have a dog that is constantly barking ALL the time!! He has one of those little white American Eskimo dogs, and the damn thing NEVER shuts up. He keeps the dog outside and couped up 24 hours a day in a dog kennel/cage type of thing and the dog is barking EVERY 5 minutes, including 1, 2, 3, 4 am in the morning!!!

[Doug Kanter]

In many towns, that's illegal, too. Here, barking for more than 15 minutes is enough for the cops to stop by, followed shortly thereafter by the animal control slug.