Noisy neighbors: lawsuit filed against Vinland Reserve Winery over noise complaints

FORT WAYNE, Ind. (WANE) – It’s a month’s long battle between a popular winery and their neighbors that has now exploded into a lawsuit.

Vinland Winery Reserve opened last year in May, providing hand crafted wines, lunch and dinner. The establishment also offers live music several days a week which happens to be the number one top rated amenity by customers according to a survey conducted a couple months ago.

While over 500 people say they enjoy the free live music on the patio, their neighbors feel differently.

A lawsuit was filed against the winery by a handful of neighbors living in close proximity to the winery; anywhere from 800 to 1000 feet away.

The plaintiffs say the music played is excessively loud and can be heard from inside their homes on a regular basis. They are labeling the winery a nuisance and seek a permanent injunction to the playing of music.

They are also seeking monetary compensation saying they have suffered emotional distress, loss of the full use of their property, and reduction in value of their homes.

WANE 15 reached out to one of the owners of Vinland Reserve Winery, Silas Norris. He said ” We feel like we are being fair in our position, and we are operating based on how a “typical” winery might operate. The live music is an essential part of our business.”

“Thousands of people were surveyed on the reasons they come to visit Vinland Reserve Winery. The #1 reason was the free live music. We serve thousands of customers each week. While there may be a few that are not happy about the music, we benefit the vast majority of people in the area.”

He also says they do live music five to six months out the year on average about five times a week.

“We only permit a full live band 1 night per week and we control our decibels on the property lines to 60-65 decibels on average. So, we do a lot more than we have to, to try to appease the neighbors. Sound travels and it can be very tricky to control the sound.”

He says they try to be respectful neighbors making sure all music is cut off by 9:30 pm each night.

Norris also says when they originally purchased the property it included the approval for an outdoor entertainment facility which means they were permitted to have both indoor and outdoor concerts.

According to judicial records, a status conference in scheduled on November 19th but the lawsuit is still in its very early stages.

For the latest news, weather, sports, and streaming video, head to WANE 15.