Don't approach the guy, either politely or otherwise. He's already indicated he's "going to sue, and you should lawyer up", so any compromise is out the window. Leave emotion, dog shit and heavy metal out of it. If the police didn't write you up, then you were not in violation of any by-laws. If he wants to approach you and scream threats, let him do so. If he enters your driveway ask him to leave your property, otherwise you will call the police. You have a family to consider, a yelling match will not do anyone any good. End of story. Your local bylaws will be available on the net. Print them out, have a read. Talk to your neighbours, ask them if the noise you're making is annoying them. If it is, offer to alter your work hours to suit. This puts you up as a considerate neighbour. The point I'm trying to make here is if he's big-noting himself / threatening you at the top of his voice, he will have done it to others as well. It's always been my experience that people who are going to genuinely punch / sue / shoot / vomit on other people, they don't tell you about it. They just do it. Do not rise to this behaviour. Be happy in the knowledge you are living within the law and enjoying your life. If he calls the police again, believe me they will be just as over it as you will be. Be friendly, shake hands, invite them inside for a coffee and they can meet your little gal and do a bit of community PR work. If they refuse (and it will be a polite refusal, believe me) explain to them how your wee gal was upset the last time and can they come in and say hello. They'll agree. The point of all this? The cops come away feeling you're an okay guy who works hard, has a nice family and wants to do the right thing. The idiot across the road will most likely receive a visit from them (let's face it, all coppers hate lawyers) telling him stop making frivolous complaints. He has video of you? Good on him! I personally would rather a copy of American Graffiti, but whatever flicks your switch I suppose..... Look, some folks lead very unhappy and sad lives. This guy is one. You are not. Cheers, Matt
Iv got a set of horns from an Amtrak train that you can borrow. Just point and shoot. My neighbors are cool long as i dont break in any motors at 1:30 am. Before 10 pm they have no problem .
Insulate the crap out of your garage , work inside it with the door closed. The insulation will help keep the noise inside as well as the heat outside / or inside depending on the time of year. Ive got 6 inch walls that are R-31 and you can't hear anything I'm doing outside the garage. If he can't hear you he can't bitch...... atleast about that.
i agree!!,insulate the sheet out of it. hey if u r within your noise makin hours ,usually 7am -10pm bang away,but,make sure its your own stuff u r pounding on.
Don't worry about the dickhead, but make sure you're cool with the other neighbors. I always knock off anything loud before I actually HAVE to, because we've got an elderly couple a couple of doors down that we really like. I know they turn in early, and I want to be respectful. If the neighbors next door are having a cookout , or doing something outside when I'm working, I'll yell over the fence and ask if what I'm doing is bothering them. The answer is always no, but I make sure to say that I'll knock it off if they'd rather that I do. I get tons of good will this way, and if we ever DO get a dickhead, I'll have lots of neighbors saying that I've always been respectful with them.
Is this guy old, young or what? Is he a practicing laywer or a practicing horse's ass? Most lawyers (even the shitty ones) I know are busy beyond belief and have no time to fuck with the neighbors. No insult to you, but any lawyer I know lives in an upscale 'hood where nobody works on their cars. So chances are that this guy is a complete crackpot with a crumbling professional practice and may even have a few gears stripped in his cranium. See what you can find out about him. I agree with the others about boning up on the local ordinances and try to stick by them until the problem gets some resolution to it. You may want to put a camera up somewhere that you can see him scoping out your property, you may even catch him in the act of trespassing. Bob
You're my hero! Can I borrow that! BLAST AWAY!!!!!!!!!!!! All kidding aside, I see no reason for you or anybody spending money needlessly just to conform to one asshole's whim. No fence... No insulation... No need to work while hiding in your garage... NOTHING! If you are within the confines of the law then you are within your right to do what you enjoy. I don't say this too often but in this case "follow the rules" and if they fall in his favor then abide by it. But if they fall in your favor (and they will) FUCK EM!
get copies of all ordinances and make sure you follow them and get a camera to make sure he does too!!
So what is he going to sue you for? I doubt that he can sue you for making too much noise. he maybe can get you arrested for disturbing the piece. But I doubt he has much he can actually sue you for. I would contact an attorney, get advice from someone who actually knows. So here is the big question of the day. Are we blog lawyers? I have known a few jailhouse lawyers in my time but is there such a thing as a blog lawyer?
oh yeah! go to the city & get a permit for a neighborhood block party & invite the cops.{ya know-so ya can talk about the ''safety''of the hood}show em your toys,& don't forget to invite ALL your car friends}i had a neighbor like that once i told em "sh*t can always get worse",after a few times of the police coming by & find no base for the complaints she got a ticket for making false calls against me,the cops thought she was a nutjob,but i always try to be nice.,yell 'hi' to him from across the street-while waiving,but find out the rules/laws first,play by the rules! hell we don't have a noise ordinance here-they can show up anytime!
You can be sued for anything! I can sue you for having blue eyes even when its obvious that you have brown eyes. My idiot neighbor made a lawsuit claiming I planted poison ivy on our fence! I seriously doubt that anyone anywhere has ever planted poison ivy on purpose
yea but can it be won is the question. I look at it this way, if it can't be won how much is there for the attorney to loose. I miss a little work at say 25 bucks an hour and he ties up countless hours at 200 bucks an hour. Then once he looses you have a free reign, you report him to the Board for filing a frivolous lawsuit and it costs him another day or two and you keep on wrenching.
If I knew some jackhole was recording my activities I'd regularly conduct occult rituals with black robes, candles, chanting, etc. in the front yard facing their place.
2X, why hire a lawyer? If the cops did not see or hear anything and did not give you a summons then its his word against yours. So he is a lawyer.... thats his job, just like you have a job.....3X, throw a block party, I did it for 10 years when I was building race cars in my garage. After 2 or 3 parties the neighbors would stop over to check on the progress of my newest project. 2X, check your local laws, I stop working at 10 PM, per the local noise ordnance. I insulated my garage door and windows and bought a noise meter.....no complaints. Next time the dog is off the leash, call the police (or pound) and tell them there is a stray dog loose........Fight for YOUR rights!
Why hire a lawyer? Because anyone who represents them selves in a court of law has an idiot for a client. If you are being sued and show up without legal representation you are asking to take it in the kiester. if you are out making noise in Ruesday evening and there is a statute against such a thing you should be prepared to do one of two things. pay up or pay an attorney. or you could call someone who is familiar with the laws and statutes of th town and ask them before you get popped. I guess the other thing you could do is go on a traditional rod and custom message board and get legal advice. I could tell you to go across the street and stomp a mud hole in his ass then kick it dry. When you go to court you could say not guilty your honor, the 'beaner told me to do it.
I tried that once, only once. They butchered me. I did alot of homework and thought I could pull it off, nope. I still feel like a turd for even trying that stunt. Live and learn.
I actually have pulled it off in traffic court but I would not go against someone who did it for a living and was out after blood. I probably wouldn't step into the ring with a WWE contender either. I know that the HAMB is good for moral support but legal advice is an entirely different story.
I wasnt looking for legal advice on here - was actually looking for leads on lawyers that some of you might have used. Of course that and venting. I am at least talking to a lawyer to make sure that im covering my basis. I wouldn't dream of trying to fight it alone. I'm an engineer, not a lawyer.
My neighbor pulled the same crap. She videoed me, took pictures, called the cops, zoning, the fire department on me for anything she could think of. I was in violation of too many junk cars, so I scrapped them (which I should have anyway) The lawsuit threats continued. I confronted her one day, held the finger about 6 feet from her face and told her to quit threatening me and sue me. That was over 10 years ago. No lawsuit to date.
Okay, this is the end all, because it works... If you say he is videotaping or taking pictures of you, whether it be from his property, the street, or from your property... Next time you see him doing it, make sure your daughter is in view or even home, heck she doesnt even need to be! Call the cops and say you are "nervous about his intentions by recording my property" Believe me he will have ALOT more questions to answer!! My mother runs a daycare from her house where my shop is located, the cops here did not take too kindly to the neighbors taking pictures!
That's it, "Officer, there's a man across the street taking pictures of my 7 year-old daughter.". Clue in the local news station as well. Bob
Before you spend any money on a lawyer maybe you should see if anything has been filed against you in the first place. Chances are if you have not been notified by the police or city you don't have a problem. If you are concerned, start by making the best case you can for yourself. Have your other neighbors sighn a statement/ petition that says its not a problem, see if the guy has filed similar claims in the past how many times and how often, look into how much noise you really do make and when you make it, document how often he tapes you if it is obvious he is filming. The alternative to this is to try to work out a compromise with the guy. Find out what exactly the problem is, show concern and effort in resolving the problem. It worked for me with my neighbor. We use to yell at each other, now I just knock on his door tell him I'm gonna makes some noise later and he leaves and gets a cup of coffee, everybody is happy.
That is awesome! I always make it a point to talk to someone if i know they dont want to talk to me. It gives you the upper hand
I have a neighbor like this and i live in the country. I dont know what set him off on us but something did. He has tried everything he could to get us in trouble. He called the EPA and said we were dumping oil in the woods. EPA guy came by and was into cars. I showed him where we put the oil and ended up talking bout cars for hrs. He called the cops and said we had dangerous animals running around. At the time we did have a camien(alligator) and was watching our native american freinds hybrid wolf. But the wolf was in a pin and the camein was in the house. Tried calling the cops for noise but nothing could stick. Then he got violent and ran me off the road one day when I had my 6 year old daughter in the truck. I took her to shop told dad to watch her and grabbed my 40. Sorry I dont call the cops when it comes to my kid. But couldnt find him. I told his wife(sweet lady never had any problems with her) what happened and I was going to put extra holes in his head. Never had anymore trouble outta him. I know not the best way to handle it but i was seeing red after he put my daughter at risk. Sorry for the long post
rear neighbor where we live use to complain when we first moved in til we built a better fence to keep her nosey a$$ out of our business. if she decides to trip anytime soon, cops will be called in counter attack when she's chief'in that mary jane in her backyard.
Check the local ordinances and use them against him. Had a ahole neighbor that complained about me working on my car in the street. Turns out that while you can't work on them in the street you can park a car from last to frist snowfall on the street in front of his house. Didn't like my beater parked in front of house. He got the picture quickly.
I would approach your neighbor one more time and try and work it out. I believe that most things are tolerable as long as you know that there is an end to it. What I mean is , if your noise is bothering him, its probably worse when he doesn't know how long it will last. If you could agree say that you will only make noise from 7pm to 9pm , well he might be able to live with that....just a thought. Even if you are not breaking any laws , it would be a good idea to talk with him and see if you can't work something out. Good luck.
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