Nasty Neighbours II

Last week, there was a story in the Globe and Mail about neighbours in Oshawa who had a dispute. Not just any dispute. This one, in the words of the Globe reporter, was "thermonuclear".

We're talking about spray-painting fences, throwing dead animals in the neighbours yard, letting the air out of the tires, damaging the cars, yelling insults through a public-address system and more. One had already been criminally convicted of mischief.

One of them, I don't know which, had the bright idea to sue the other. The other counter-sued, both claiming that the other was interfering with their enjoyment of their property, among other things.

At the end of the trial, one was ordered to pay the other $4,000 and the other ordered to pay the other $12,000. That works out to $8,000 for the "winner". I don't know yet if one side had to pay costs, but, given the mixed success, I would not be surprised to see that each side has to pay their own legal fees. The judge had some unpleasant things to say to the parties too.

One of the parties has since moved away, which makes me think: "Duh - why didn't you move earlier and avoid the lawsuit?"

These people had a battle that lasted around 5-7 years. You can imagine the pure hell it would be to live with that. Your home is normally your castle, but for these people, it was a medieval castle, constantly at war with the neighbour's castle. What fun is that?

I have some advice for people that call because of neighbour disputes. Work it out quickly or move. Pretty drastic advice!

If you don't work it out, it will only get worse. History shows that these disputes escalate over time. Over and above the cost of the vandalised property is the more important cost: stress, loss of peace of mind and a miserable life at home.

When I suggest that people move, they tell me that it is too expensive to move. "Why should I have to pay to move - it's their fault." Then they say my favourites: "They started it. I was here first." How old are you?   Frankly, it doesn't really matter a whole lot who's fault it is or who started it. I am more concerned who is going to end it, and how. Your options are work it out or move.

You better work it out, because the other option is more expensive. The parties in the recent court case likely had legal fees in the range of$5,000 - $10,000 or more. Add that on to 7 years of hell, vandalism and acrimony and the cost of moving away starts to look like a bargain. Invariably, one party will eventually move anyway, just like in the recent case. So you pay four ways: legal costs, moving costs, damage to property and lost quality of life.

Who really won?