AZ Common Law Causes of Action NUISANCE (2011)

• Jurisdiction: Arizona

NUISANCE

Elements

“A nuisance is common or public when it affects the rights which are enjoyed by its citizens as part of the public, while a private nuisance is one which affects a single individual or a definite number of persons in the enjoyment of some private right which is not common to the public.” City of Phoenix v. Johnson, 51 Ariz. 115, 123, 75 P.2d 30, 34 (1938).

“[A] private individual may have a right of action on account of either a public or a private nuisance. In the first case he must show some special damages which he has suffered in addition to those common to the general public.” City of Phoenix v. Johnson, 51 Ariz. 115, 124, 75 P.2d 30, 34 (1938).

Proof

“Music does not constitute a nuisance per se, but it may become a nuisance because of loud noise or the attraction of large crowds. Noise, to be enjoined, must produce substantial injury and annoy the normal person.” McQuade v. Tucson Tiller Apartments, Ltd., 25 Ariz. App. 312, 314, 543 P.2d 150 (1975) (internal citations omitted).

“In determining whether the acts constitute a nuisance, the court should consider all the circumstances including the locality and character of the surroundings, the nature of the defendant’s business and the manner in which it is conducted, the value to the community of the...