California Court of Appeal

In a complaint against a city by plaintiff-homeowner requesting action to remove fences on neighbor's property, grant of motion for judgment on the pleadings without leave to amend in favor of defendant city is reversed with directions to grant plaintiffs leave to amend their complaint to allege a cause of action for nuisance where: 1) blocking a public sidewalk constitutes a public nuisance per se; 2) a private individual may bring an action against a municipality to abate a public nuisance when the individual suffers harm that is specially injurious to himself; and 3) even were a claim required in order to seek equitable relief, plaintiffs have met their burden of alleging facts in this claim which placed city on notice to adequately investigate the alleged nuisance.

Appellate Information

• Decided 08/13/2008
• Published 08/13/2008

Judges

• EPSTEIN, P.J.

Court

• California Court of Appeal

Counsel

• For Appellant:
  
• Charles G. Kinney, Oakland, for Plaintiffs and Appellants.


• For Appellees:
  
• Rockard J. Delgadillo, City Attorney, Susan D. Pfann, Assistant City Attorney and Peter E. Langsfeld, Deputy City Attorney for Defendant and Respondent.