The owner of a Maryland townhouse sued his housing cooperative because of exposure to his neighbors’ smoking. The court found that the owner’s claims all failed, including that his neighbor’s tobacco smoke (1) was a nuisance; (2) violated the covenant of quiet enjoyment; and (3) constituted a trespass. Additionally, the housing cooperative was not guilty of negligence because the homeowner was not harmed by the drifting secondhand smoke. The court said that although exposure to secondhand smoke did not constitute a nuisance in this case they were not saying that it could never rise to the level of a nuisance.
Some jurisdictions allow an individual or organization to initiate an action against another private party who is not following a particular law. For example, a person may sue a restaurant that allows smoking despite a smoke free law. If the plaintiff is claiming the violation of the law caused physical harm, this may also be a personal injury case.
An individual or organization may seek civil damages against a tobacco company based on the claim that the use of tobacco products causes disease or death. Some of these cases will relate to general tobacco products, while others will relate to specific subcategories of tobacco products--for example, light or low products, menthol or other flavored products. Additionally, there may be cases relating to exposure to secondhand smoke.
A claim for violating a law protecting tenants or home owners, such as the covenant of quiet enjoyment, the warranty of habitability, constructive eviction, or trespass. For example, a tenant could sue a neighbor or the property owner when exposed to drifting secondhand smoke in their home.
Type of Tobacco Product
None
Limitations regarding the use of quotes The quotes provided here reflect statements from a specific decision. Accordingly, the International Legal Consortium (ILC) cannot guarantee that an appellate court has not reversed a lower court decision which may influence the applicability or influence of a given quote. All quotes have been selected based on the subjective evaluations undertaken by the ILC meaning that quotes provided here may not accurately or comprehensively represent a given court’s opinion or conclusion, as such quotes may have originally appeared alongside other negative opinions or accompanying facts. Further, some quotes are derived from unofficial English translations, which may alter their original meaning. We emphasize the need to review the original decision and related decisions before authoritatively relying on quotes. Using quotes provided here should not be construed as legal advice and is not intended to be a substitute for legal counsel on any subject matter in any jurisdiction. Please see the full limitations at https://www.tobaccocontrollaws.org/about.
"If this Court were to hold that any amount of secondhand smoke entering from one cooperative housing member’s home to another’s constituted a nuisance, we would be one step away from banning smoking in all private homes - - an action inconsistent with State statutes. The circuit court explained that such a ruling would eventually lead to single family home owners bringing nuisance actions because many of those homes are not much further apart than the cooperative housing homes. We agree; it would be hard to reasonably define the areas where a smoker could smoke without the risk of a lawsuit."
Limitations regarding the use of quotes The quotes provided here reflect statements from a specific decision. Accordingly, the International Legal Consortium (ILC) cannot guarantee that an appellate court has not reversed a lower court decision which may influence the applicability or influence of a given quote. All quotes have been selected based on the subjective evaluations undertaken by the ILC meaning that quotes provided here may not accurately or comprehensively represent a given court’s opinion or conclusion, as such quotes may have originally appeared alongside other negative opinions or accompanying facts. Further, some quotes are derived from unofficial English translations, which may alter their original meaning. We emphasize the need to review the original decision and related decisions before authoritatively relying on quotes. Using quotes provided here should not be construed as legal advice and is not intended to be a substitute for legal counsel on any subject matter in any jurisdiction. Please see the full limitations at https://www.tobaccocontrollaws.org/about.
The owner of a Maryland townhouse sued his housing cooperative because of exposure to his neighbors’ smoking. The court found that the owner’s claims all failed, including that his neighbor’s tobacco smoke (1) was a nuisance; (2) violated the covenant of quiet enjoyment; and (3) constituted a trespass. Additionally, the housing cooperative was not guilty of negligence because the homeowner was not harmed by the drifting secondhand smoke. The court said that although exposure to secondhand smoke did not constitute a nuisance in this case they were not saying that it could never rise to the level of a nuisance.