Anti-Gun Neighbors

[ade06]

Originally Posted by BigCat

I'm a practicing attorney. Of course, I'll probably have to find a new board to call home after that revelation. In any event, I think the sign is funny as hell, but from a legal standpoint (and I'm mostly a defense attorney), I would have no problem putting together a legitimate lawsuit if the neighbor were to be harmed by someone coming into the house. It is a straight-forward negligence case. You have a duty to your neighbor not to increase his risk of being robbed, harmed, killed, etc. By posting this sign, you have breached that duty. If he is harmed by someone entering his home because of your sign, you caused it. And if he is harmed, he has been damaged. The elements of negligence are (1) duty, (2) breach, (3) causation, and (4) damage. You've got all four here. It isn't going to be a viable defense that you breached that duty by speaking - speech can be an action as well as an expression. You can't go into a bad neighborhood and post a notice that your neighbor is on vacation for a week and doens't have an alarm and then claim free speech protection when he gets robbed. Just sayin...

Please no more legal analysis This will only lead to responses of how there wasn't actual or factual causation or there was some intervening act, which broke the chain of causation, etc.

Isn't it great how legal backgrounds can mess-up a joke thread.

[BigCat]

Originally Posted by ade06

Please no more legal analysis This will only lead to responses of how there wasn't actual or factual causation or there was some intervening act, which broke the chain of causation, etc.

Isn't it great how legal backgrounds can mess-up a joke thread.

ok, ok, I just thought I'd lend some support to my fellow brother of the law I will refrain from further comment.

[ade06]

Originally Posted by BigCat

ok, ok, I just thought I'd lend some support to my fellow brother of the law I will refrain from further comment.

Man, I was just joking!!! But, I wasn't even thinking about negligence. I'm sure a plaintiff attorney could come up with some other claims too. I practice transactional and securities law, so what do I know about litigation. LoL.

[BigCat]

Originally Posted by ade06

Man, I was just joking!!! But, I wasn't even thinking about negligence. I'm sure a plaintiff attorney could come up with some other claims too. I practice transaction law, so what do I know about litigation. LoL.

I know you were just joking...I thought I conveyed that in my response. Thus the "" It's all good in the hood either way

As for an action before damage is done, that would be difficult, as damage is an essential element of a tort suit. You'd probably have a hard time showing the emotional distress damages to prevail there. Frankly, I haven't dealt with nuisance since law school, so I can't comment intelligently on that point. My best guess would that it would have to be something based in equity, such as an injunction - arguing that the risk of home invasion or death isn't compensable with money damages and that once that bell is rung, it can't be unrung. It is certainly not as straight forward, but I think it is at least a colorable claim that isn't going to get anyone sanctioned for bringing it. Just my