Noteworthy Response

Dear Mr. [Lawyer]:

I am in receipt of your letter dated March 11, 2009 illustrating your client’s displeasure with my legal debris burning and threatening legal action. While I am sympathetic to Mr. White’s asthmatic condition, I find his course of action highly offensive.

It is Mr. White who burns multiple security lights from the back of his home 24/7 which shine into my bedroom window; and it is Mr. White who runs sprinklers throughout the night producing noise which prevents my family from enjoying the pleasure of open windows; and finally, it is Mr. White’s property from which I consistently hear obscenities yelled which would offend anyone of respectable social conscience. I have tolerated these annoyances throughout my ownership of the neighboring property, and I regard such toleration as reasonable neighboring.

Surely you are aware that Cobb County has very explicit regulations regarding the burning of yard debris. While the fact that my fire burned beyond sunset was inadvertently in violation of these regulations, I can assure you that all future burning will be strictly compliant.

While your threat of legal action is likely an often effective manner of dealing with these issues, I am certain that you understand the folly of your argument in this case. The state of public nuisance law in Georgia is well-settled. As I am sure you are aware, a property owner only owes a duty to his neighbors not to interfere with such peaceful enjoyment of his property that a reasonable person would expect. He is not however held to a higher standard because his neighbor has super-sensitivities. Certainly the fact that Cobb County has such an explicit code regarding burning of yard debris is indicative that a reasonable person would not be deprived of his peaceful enjoyment by such burning. Therefore, your client has no right to prevent me from “outside burning of any kind at any time.”

Please note that had your client pursued a more reasonable means of communicating his displeasure with my actions, I would have likely been more amiable to his concerns. Instead of walking over to my house and having an adult conversation or mailing me a personal letter, Mr. White chose to hire an attorney to write a threatening and rather insulting letter. Therefore, I expect to continue burning my yard debris through April 30, when the burning ban is annually enforced.

Should you wish to contact me further, I can be reached anytime at [phone number].

Very truly yours,



Goat