Private Nuisance-B.B - Summary Topics Public Health PDF

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Private Nuisance...

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Private nuisance refers to the nontrespassory invasion of another’s use and enjoyment of land. After years of tolerating increasingly offensive odors, the Pesteys brought a private nuisance claim against the Cushman’s who operated a dairy farm. The defendants (Cushman) constructed a 42,000-square foot free stall ban and milking parlor on their land to house a herd of dairy cows and a pit in which to store the manure generated by the herd (Pestey v. Cushman, 2002). The Pesteys began to notice onjectional odors coming from the farm. In this case, the Pesteys claimed successfully at the trial that the odor was from the Cushman’s “negligent operations” of the farm (Hodge,2014) On appeal, the Connecticut Supreme Court considered whether (1) the condition had a “natural tendency to create danger and inflict injury upon person or property;” (2) resulting harms were continuous; (3) the Cushman’s use of the land was unreasonable or unlawful; and (4) the nuisance was the proximate cause of injuries and damages (Hodge, 2014) In many cases, farmers are allowed greater leeway regarding natural odors from their crop or live stock production. It is natural, as odors will be omitted from the operation of farms consisting livestock. Given what the Supreme Court was considering natural odors from a farm do not really construct any of the scenarios stated above. A smell is a neural response to an airborne molecule binding to receptors in the mucous of your nose. It is more so the chemicals that cause the smell that is harmful. It is stated that the Pesteys could smell sulfur like odor, but sulfur bacteria are not harmful and sulfide gas is naturally formed from the decay of organic matter (Health, MN, 2017). Given the circumstance, was it just to fine the Cushman’s $100,000 for “damages” for running a natural business operation in which odor was inevitable (to a certain extent)? The right-to-farm law and Pestey v. Cushman. (2002, February 25). Retrieved from http://cdm15019.contentdm.oclc.org/cdm/ref/collection/p128501coll2/id/85603 Hodge Jr., James G. (2014). Public Health Law in a nutshell (2nd ed.). St. Paul, MN: West Academic Publishing. Hydrogen Sulfide and Sulfur Bacteria. (2017). Retrieved from http://www.health.state.mn.us/divs/eh/wells/waterquality/hydrosulfide.html Whittaker, Z. (2016, June 07). FBI is now pushing for warrantless access to internet browsing history. Retrieved from http://www.zdnet.com/article/fbi-now-wantsaccess-to-internet-browsing-history-without-a-warrant/...