BarkingDogs.net

The material on this page was contributed by Geordie Duckler, LLC - Attorney at Law,
in an interview conducted by the Barking Dogs Webmaster in May of 2006

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Go back to read about step four

Preparing to Sue the Dog Owner in Court: A Five Step Process

Step Five: Document the Financial Impact

Even if you manage to document everything laid out in steps one through four, that still doesn't necessarily mean that you've won the day, because you'll have a much better chance of winning your barking dog case in court if you can provide evidence to show that you have suffered some economic detriment.

So usually you will have to show that there has been some change in your economic situation as a result of your having been exposed to the noise of your neighbor's barking dog. It can be as little as the money you lost when you had to buy an anti-barking device or a white noise machine. And it could be the cost of seeing your doctor for help with the constant stress. Of course it is essential that you keep your receipts, because that will serve as your evidence.

Or it could be a larger amount, like the drop in your property value that results from the nuisance. You can testify in court that the value of your property used to be assessed at two-hundred-thousand-dollars, but that your realtor just came over recently and said, "God, you'll never be able to sell this place now, because that barking dog would drive anybody crazy. So my property value just plummeted." Again, you don't actually have to sell the house, but just the fact that you've contacted a realtor, and they have an opinion that the property value has been reduced, that will show an economic effect.

Also, you might be able to show a financial impact if the noise coming from the barking dog has created a situation in which you are no longer able to make full use of your house. You just need to find a real estate person who will say, "This house, if all four rooms were useable, has a market value of X. However, if three of those four rooms are unusable because of the noise, then the value of the home is diminished by X amount." It's the same as if someone just nailed the doors of those rooms closed, because you can no longer use them.

Now if you can't show that kind of economic effect, then, you can't show it. I've certainly had people win and get paid off on barking cases in which their property actually went up in value. But it's always better if you can show some sort of economic impact.

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This page from the Duckler Interview is part of Section Three:
the Law section of barkingdogs.net