Couple Awarded Over $500K for Neighbors’ ‘Extreme’ Bad Behavior

Northern Ontario's CTV News reported that a Canadian couple has been awarded more than $500,000 after years of dealing with “extreme” behavior from their next-door neighbors. Neither the plaintiffs' nor the defendants' identities have been made public.

According to the court’s decision, between 2019 and 2023 the plaintiffs called police to their Sault Ste. Marie home at least 119 times due to issues with the defendants. After trying for years to deal with the issues privately, the plaintiffs finally sued their neighbors in 2022 due to "damages for multiple private nuisances, trespasses, mental distress, out-of-pocket expenses, and punitive damages."

The neighbors quickly got onto the married couple’s bad side after letting garbage, old bikes and vehicles, and other debris pile up on their lawn. They also had many overnight “guests,” which according to the decision were actually squatters . They would also allow animals, including dangerous dogs, to roam the property unsupervised at all hours of the day and night. At one point, as many as 20 people lived in the defendants’ home, "most of whom have no connection or relationship to the defendant other than temporary room and board."

The plaintiffs also believed the defendants to be engaging in “criminal activity,” such as "fighting, domestic violence, possession of stolen property, assaults, batteries, the sale and use of narcotics, and the discharge of firearms." These suspicions were all but confirmed when, one night, bullets rained down on the plaintiffs’ home. "The bullets exited the side of the defendant’s garage in two locations and struck the chimney of the home on the plaintiff property [sic]," the court said. "This was confirmed by the police witnesses who testified and records filed."

It was also found that the neighbors failed "to prevent rats, canine fecal matter, and debris from escaping from the defendant property and entering upon the plaintiff property [sic].

"The plaintiffs describe the conduct of the defendant and the defendant’s guests as persistent, uninterrupted, and ongoing now for a period of at least five years," the decision read. "As a result, the plaintiffs and the surrounding community have suffered an immeasurable amount of turmoil, distress and loss of the use and enjoyment of their respective properties."

When the plaintiffs sued , they sought $250,000 each, for a total of $500,000 in addition to another $200,000—$250,000 each for “the persistent trespassing,” as well as punitive damages totaling $150,000. Ultimately, the court ordered the defendant to pay the couple $210,000 each for the "nuisance, trespass, and mental distress" the incidents caused. They were also awarded $100,000 in punitive damages and $50,000 in court fees, a total of $570,000.

"If the provisions of this order are insufficient to bring the defendant into compliance with the spirit and intent of this order,” the judge warned, “the plaintiffs are hereby granted leave to seek further directions of the court by way of motion served upon the defendant.”