The Home Front

Neighbor's Barking Dogs Trigger $25K Lawsuit

By Luke Mullins

Posted: September 16, 2008

Sick of your lousy neighbor's dogs barking all night? Ever consider suing? That's what two brothers in Ohio reportedly did after their neighbor was allegedly unable to keep his dogs from yapping.

From the Cleveland Plain Dealer:

The brothers [Tom and Joe McDaniel] have sued Dan Ullman, claiming the relentless yapping of his dogs has created anxiety and compromised their standard of living. They are seeking more than $25,000 in damages.

Ullman believes the men are all bark and no bite. He filed a counterclaim, saying the men ridiculed and harassed him by making baseless claims and turned neighbors against him.

The McDaniels were prepared to go to trial last week, armed with audio and video tapes and witnesses, including a dog warden. But their attorneys and Summit County Common Pleas Judge Elinore Marsh Stormer agreed to delay the trial until February to see if the problems can be resolved...

Ullman, an Akron police officer, owns at least two dogs, including a pit bull. The back yard of his Tampa Avenue home is fenced. But the McDaniels claim that since August 2005, they have been unable to get Ullman to control his dogs.

teachers need to get a real job

Am i the only one here not interested in being lectured by a lazy citizen IE teacher.

You have to love these clowns. they never quite made it to adulthood. 3 months off in the summer , they got hooked on the idea.........................Its laziness diguised as professionalism.............then these clown complain about there pay...........lmao..........you chose a field to work in suffer the consequences loser.

Oh by the wat get a real job.......anyone can teach.......lmao

bob @ Nov 07, 2009 06:19:22 AM

This is a ridiculous trial

If he is following all the rules......such as fenced in yard.....not letting them run the neigborhood...and such...then what is the fuss...seems to me the neighbor who filed the suit...should get a great big tall fence.....and big locks on a gate...and lock themselves in it so they cant see the world around them...wake up people...there are those who mindlessly let their dogs and cats and whatever...loud motorcycles, cars, yelling and screaming while they are standing in the middle of the road.....playing loud music....whatever! This is the world around us....i think if someone took the time to take a few dogs off the streets..or even from our overcrowded shelters...*if your looking go there there are many) and put up a fence....and takes care of them...then leave him alone to have his dogs.....maybe that neighbor should adopt a dog then and the others too...and have a big bbq in the summer.....if not move to a quieter neighborhood...geez!! or how about this....take the money ur spending on this senseless law suit and do something good with it...like donate to a charitable organization!

jancin of FL @ Nov 07, 2009 05:18:48 AM

And you think you have problems?

I have a neighbor who lives less than 150 feet from me, these people have 12-14 dogs, 2/3's of those who are tied up outside and the others are kept inside. They rent a small mobile home which has had no running water for almost a year, the smell from the place is horrid. The grass has never been cut this summer at all & its almost 2 feet high. These dogs bark almost 24/7. I have video & audio clips of the dogs of different times of the day. We can't sleep, I've been late for work on many occasions, last week, I had a headache for 3 days. Its almost impossible to sit on the porch & enjoy a summer evening, if the smell doesn't get to you, the barking dogs will. I've been to the Sheriff's Dept, the County Health Dept,I've been in contact with the Dog Warden. They tell me there is nothing they can do because we live in a rural area The Health Dept sent a letter to the renters who own the dogs and the property owner over a month ago, giving them 2 weeks to restore water or vacate the premises. Lot of good that done. Now they say there is very little they can do for me. I'm so fustrated This has been an issue for almost 18 months.

Tom of OH @ Sep 23, 2009 20:15:50 PM

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