[WSBARP] House built, blocks PC's view - practical recourse

[Paul Neumiller]

Tom, there are cases out there that say that if you give the neighbor notice early in the construction process, the neighbor is prohibited from arguing or presenting evidence of hardship.  But if your client waited too long and the house is built, the neighbor can whine loudly about the cost of reducing the height of a building or moving it back.  I had a case where the HOA sent a letter to the neighbor early in the construction process and said we would submit the letter to the court to demonstrate that he had notice.  Of course, the neighbor continued to build.  I was told by the litigators that the letter was pure gold and the judge proclaimed from the bench:  “Mr. {defendant}, you gambled and you lost.”  He had to remove the top three feet of his new house.  It didn’t help that he acted like a rich guy from the Big City who thought that he could bowl over the local yahoos.


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From: wsbarp-bounces at lists.wsbarppt.com <wsbarp-bounces at lists.wsbarppt.com> On Behalf Of Tom Lee
Sent: Friday, January 6, 2023 12:37 PM
To: WSBA Real Property Listserv <wsbarp at lists.wsbarppt.com>
Subject: [WSBARP] House built, blocks PC's view - practical recourse

Hello Braintrust,

PC has a neighbor building a house which is only about 7 feet away from PC's property lot line. The covenants clearly state that the building setback must be 20 feet from all lot lines. Worse, Neighbor's home construction has completely blocked PC's view of the Columbia River - PC bought his house for the river view. PC feels the situation has devalued his house and property as a whole.

Does anyone have practical legal advice on how to address this situation? Given the neighbor's house is already built, I am worried about just jumping into a lawsuit because I am wary about the court granting relief for what the PC probably wants, which is for the neighbor to tear down his house.

Thoughts?

Best,
Tom

--

TOM LEE

Attorney

R. THOMAS LEE, PLLC | Attorney and Counselor at Law | A Professional Limited Liability Company

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