Judge bans a man from smoking in HIS OWN HOME!!

a reply to: Anyafaj

Americans...no wonder your lawyers are among the wealthiest in your country.

You just can't help it can you!

until and unless the smoke-nazis get around to enclosing ALL public roads in some kind of airtight plexiglass tunnels, thus keeping the 100% fatally toxic car exhaust fumes out of MY life, they can whinge all they want about where i can and cannot smoke. and i shall ignore them. smokers get demonized like this all the time but we blithely allow our precious cars to pump MASSIVE amounts of poison into everyone's air. so drive on, misinformed health obsessives. i shall smoke on and would advise all other smokers to do so. sometimes one has to just say 'enough'.

originally posted by: Sremmos80
a reply to: Anyafaj

Agreed the fine is ridiculous, and he should have the right to smoke in his own home.

Just as you have the right to not have unwanted smoke in your home.

Nothing is set in stone yet, the man has not been billed for 500k, they are just asking to stop in the meantime till it gets figured out.
So before we go on about how this is the end of the world, let the courts do their role.

The fact this lawsuit was not thrown out as frivolous is ridiculous. Only in America can a person move into a new home next to someone who has been there for years and years and demand they stop doing something in their own home...... And have people like you protect his decision.

Whoever has the authority to dismiss frivolous lawsuits needs to be fired/ de-barred. If I was this guy I would be in jail for contempt and this would go all the way to the surpreme court.

As per usual people are commenting without looking into the story. Here's a larger article on this from the Washington Post:

It's a row house. The neighbors tried to settle this without going to court. The judge ordered both houses inspected. The smoker's home has a damaged chimney which is not up to code and is allowing cigarette smoke into the adjoining house. The people complaining about the smoke HAVE OFFERED TO HELP PAY FOR THE REPAIRS to get the house up to code which should be done anyway but he still refuses to do it. The people suing say they aren't interested in the money and if he just brings his house up to code they will drop the lawsuit.

LiNK.

a reply to: Anyafaj

He should just smoke outside. Cigarette smoke gets everywhere.

I smoked in one apartment, I will never ever smoke in a place that i own. It sticks to everything and reeks. Smoke outside, its not that hard. I vape now so i can just do that as much as i want with no stink.

But it doesn't make a lot of sense, logic dictates smoking outside will expose their house to more smoke than having it contained in their house. If its a hole in someones basement that is allowing smoke in/out, then cover the damn hole? PS: Dont be trying to tell me what to do in my own home.

originally posted by: Swills
a reply to: Anyafaj

He should just smoke outside. Cigarette smoke gets everywhere.

And when the snow is 8 feet high like this winter and it's 30-40 below, would YOU want to be outside or inside your own home doing what YOU want to do? In the winter, I could NEVER get my ex to smoke outside knowing our daughter had severe asthma that would become walking pneumonia at the drop of a hat! Our daughter was one a nebulizer just thinking the word winter! Every Halloween from age 5-15 she'd spend only being able to visit 4 houses, and only being able to do maybe 2 at a time. One in a very blue moon, the doctor would give permission for 2 or 3 more than that, after those houses, she was on the nebulizer and handing out candy because the cold weather was killer on her asthma, as well as his smoking and that Axe body spray crap! I used to make him go outside spray that crap, wait 5 minutes, THEN come back in because he killed both her and I with both our asthma with that Axe crap. To tell you the truth, I can deal with cigarettes, but Axe? Ugh, kill me now dude.

originally posted by: DelMarvel
As per usual people are commenting without looking into the story. Here's a larger article on this from the Washington Post:

It's a row house. The neighbors tried to settle this without going to court. The judge ordered both houses inspected. The smoker's home has a damaged chimney which is not up to code and is allowing cigarette smoke into the adjoining house. The people complaining about the smoke HAVE OFFERED TO HELP PAY FOR THE REPAIRS to get the house up to code which should be done anyway but he still refuses to do it. The people suing say they aren't interested in the money and if he just brings his house up to code they will drop the lawsuit.

LiNK.

Thanks for the link. I didn't see this one. I can understand her fear of the neighbor having a say in HOW her chimney gets fixed. Perhaps this is where mediation broke down? Hopefully the judge can find a way to work something out somewhere without FUBARing it worse.

originally posted by: AzureSky
I smoked in one apartment, I will never ever smoke in a place that i own. It sticks to everything and reeks. Smoke outside, its not that hard. I vape now so i can just do that as much as i want with no stink.

But it doesn't make a lot of sense, logic dictates smoking outside will expose their house to more smoke than having it contained in their house. If its a hole in someones basement that is allowing smoke in/out, then cover the damn hole? PS: Dont be trying to tell me what to do in my own home.

I think that is what's annoying people more than anything. First it was no smoking in bars, ok fine, people didn't like it, but they went along with it. Then it was no smoking in your car while sitting in the hospital, or clinic parking lot. OK FINE! Again, not happy, but people followed the rules. Some apartment buildings are no smoking, but this is the man's private home. Pretty soon it's going to be illegal period. I mean heck, NY State, the taxes alone cost more than the cigarettes! Every year they go up and smokers claim they're going to quit, they're not going to pay it, and yet, they buckle down and pay. Or they find the nearest Indian casino and buy their cigarettes. Now the state is getting wise and planting Sheriff cars right outside the casino to collect the taxes just as you're pulling out, or trying to. The Indians are ticked. They're going to court because they claim the state is running off customers doing this. (Which truthfully, I don't doubt.)

a reply to: Anyafaj

I used to smoke and I smoked in all weather imaginable. This judge ruling he can't smoke inside is troubling, perhaps the judge is just looking out for the children since cigs most likely cause cancer and all. But that all said, cig smoke is disgusting and can get anywhere and everywhere. Just smoke outside or get an e cig.

a reply to: Anyafaj

I believe this sums up my feelings towards this BS:

")B&*#CN)!!*(Y_*(M!!@#$%^&*()P!U#_)N*(M)(IT^!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!"

JUDE11

originally posted by: Swills
a reply to: Anyafaj

I used to smoke and I smoked in all weather imaginable. This judge ruling he can't smoke inside is troubling, perhaps the judge is just looking out for the children since cigs most likely cause cancer and all. But that all said, cig smoke is disgusting and can get anywhere and everywhere. Just smoke outside or get an e cig.

For now the weather is getting agreeable enough, supposedly there is another storm coming to the East though. I get that the smoke is coming through the holes in the chimney. I do. I sympathize with the couple that are pregnant and have a child. When they were house hunting, one of the questions asked should have been, "Do smokers live nearby?" This man has lived there for years. It's not like he moved there yesterday and all of a sudden this just started up. Right now, it's not like he has much of a choice thanks to a judge, does he?

a reply to: Anyafaj

I almost had to check this didn't come from the Daily Mail.

First, it states in the story that there is a hole in their basement wall, meaning that the properties are joined and that smoke is clearly entering their home from their neighbours home. It's entirely reasonable to want to protect your own children from poisons coming from a neighbouring property.

The injunction is A TEMPORARY ONE, as clearly stated in the piece. This man has not been "banned" from smoking in his own home indefinitely, he has been instructed to TEMPORARILY stop blowing smoke into his neighbours property, an entirely reasonable request to make and one that shouldn't require a court to impose.

Welcome to the notion of being a polite and decent neighbour!

From what I can see of this (without the nonsense knee-jerk ranting from people who think liberty and freedom means the right to encroach on the lives of others as and when you choose) the judge should have imposed this on the smoker, then demanded that each pay 50% of the cost to have that hole filled, then told each to go on their merry way. And no, the couple claiming money in "damages" should be told in no uncertain terms that this is not going to be an easy pay day for them. They're clearly trying to cash-in on this and they should not be permitted to.

This is a mountain out of a molehill, and whether you like it or not people have to work together in society to meet a rational and reasonable conclusion. When people are too childish to come to these agreements and conclusions themselves the courts should step in and inflict REASON on those irrational people - the judge has done that.

a reply to: Swills

I bet I could do just about as much damage health wise with a few gallons of bleach each week used to mop that basement! Ya see that's where the problem lies just where does it all stop? There is many different things that even you might use on a regular basis that can cause way more of a concern to your neighbors than just a fear that something might happen! I've seen signs on school systems banning aerosol sprays of any kind from the building because of the reaction that one of their employees would have from it.. And as people are driven into more confined spaces like sardines in a can more and more stuff like this will happen..

My biggest concern is that the cigarette smoke gets so much attention while being based on just a fear while other items seem to be completely ignored and are actually harming people. Which kind of gives me the indication that the motive behind the whole thing has nothing to do with people's health!

So my answer is simple:
Unless you are willing to give up on those things that actually causes me physical problems then well leave me alone about the cigarettes! I am no slave so don't tell me that I can't have a preferred method of killing myself while accepting that you have the right to kill me in your chosen method!
("you" not being directed at you specifically but rather any readers that might be cleaning their business (or hospital) with such things as pine-sol, or buring incense in a place I might be in, or plastering pretty smelling crap onto their bodies, ect!)

Cedric said it best... "We gonna' hafta' leave Earf to have a smoke!"

There is a town in South Texas that has an ordinance, that you can be cited and fined for smoking in your own car if there's a child in the vehicle even with the windows down. I agree you shouldn't smoke around your kids in a small enclosed area, but what about people just driving through the town that don't know the ordinance? Cha'Ching$!

The people with the complaint could just move, or maybe block the hole in the basement they say it comes through. These people have lived in the same spot for 50 years, I think that gives them seniority and the right, to continue their life as they see fit. if they want to smoke a legal cigarette in their home which they own who is anybody else to say they can't do it?! This judge is a whack job! What makes their right to not be around smoke any better than my right to have a legal smoke?! 500 k in damages points right from the start of this being frivolous. How this ever made it to a courtroom I can't even imagine. What a freaking world we live in.

Sure, you should be able to do anything you want in your own home. As long as it doesn't negatively impact your neighbors. I don't care if it's smoking, making homemade horseradish, a litter box, or cooking chitlins. Have some consideration. I've lived in settings with adjoining units and been constantly assaulted by smoke coming from the next unit. It stinks. Why should I have to put up with that? Where are my rights? I don't care what you do as longs as it doesn't infringe on my ability to enjoy my own home. And from reading the more in-depth coverage of the story it would appear the smokers knew there was a problem but are unwilling to address it and the aggrieved party has been more than cooperative in trying to get the situation resolved amicably. Some smokers don't get it and have no interest in seeing the other side. The smell is highly objectionable to many people and there is a legitimate health issue for some.

originally posted by: Anyafaj

Edwin Gray likes smoking cigarettes, but a Superior Court judge in Washington D.C. has ruled Gray can’t smoke anything in his home - including marijuana, which was recently legalized in the District.

Gray’s neighbors filed a civil lawsuit against Gray and his sister, Mozella Johnson, who lives in the family home. The neighbors, a couple with one child and another on the way, alleged in their lawsuit that they’re being harmed by Gray’s smoke - which permeates their home through a hole in the basement.

"We were floored," Johnson told WJLA. Their family has owned the home for 50 years.

The judge filed a temporary injunction and ordered that no one in the house, including guests, smoke indoors.

Washington D.C. real estate attorney and Washington Post columnist Benny Kass was surprised at the outcome. "I think it’s an excellent precedent to start, so people can realize you can't just ignore your neighbor," Kass said. "Your home is no longer your castle."

The lawsuit asks for $500,000 in damages, and the case is ongoing, but Johnson believes the injunction sets a bad precedent. "If this judge has done this, who will be next? What other neighbor will be next?" he asked.

How long before smoking is illegal entirely? I don't smoke right now, but I have in the past. This man was in his own home! I doubt very highly he smoked so much that these people were that inconvenienced. Sure, maybe they smelled a cigarette or two, now and then, but I highly doubt it was so excessive that they need an injunction to stop him AND $500,000! Give me a break!

To be fair, if the homes are joined by a common wall and the smoke is going into the second home, this is reasonable and makes sense. And it could easily have been rectified at any time if the smokers hadn't been jerks.

a reply to: thesaneone

I can't tell from the article but are these neighbors next door in a different building or are they neighbors in a apartment upstairs?

exactly my question,

Will keep reading to see if this answered,

OK answered just a few posts down,

Instead of move out for the other family asking for the ridiculous sum, why couldn't the judge suggest having hole sealed if that is the issue and how the smoke gets from A to B?

How easy it is to say there is hole and it stinks, now give me $500,000.

Pure insanity.

originally posted by: interupt42
a reply to: Anyafaj

which permeates their home through a hole in the basement.

So why not plug the Hole ? Then plug the hole in the basement.

Shut up with that logic and sensible solution,

That gets no one any money and doesn't force anyone to live in a prison like situation (on a small level where rules are imposed on what can and cannot be done under your own roof by another) in their own home.

a reply to: Sremmos80

Agreed the fine is ridiculous, and he should have the right to smoke in his own home.

Just as you have the right to not have unwanted smoke in your home.

So true,

however if its a shared building then I believe the ones complaining have the right to seal the hole.

They claim its the hole that is causing the smoke to stink up their place so they could easily solve the issue if their claims are true by sealing the hole.


The approach they are taking is insane.

There is no way they could the money they are asking for, I believe some evidence has to be supplied for damages caused to get such a pay out.

Interesting to hear the outcome.