A nightclub in a subdivision. Bar customers getting into fights and littering on nearby yards. A sandwich restaurant operating out of a house. A brunch jazz group bothering the house next door. A liquor store, dance hall, and beer parlor in a residential neighborhood. Drive-in restaurant lights keeping the neighbors awake all night. A nightclub next to a bed and breakfast. Smoke from a barbecue smoker wafting into the apartments next door. Welcome to Louisiana, where neighbors love to sue nearby bars and restaurants under state nuisance law. While nuisance lawsuits occur across the state,9 New Orleans is unique in that it sees more lawsuits than anywhere else.
The purpose of a bar or restaurant is to attract customers, but that purpose and the interests of nearby neighbors often conflict. When neighbors have finally had enough, they turn to the courts for relief usually citing state nuisance law. Lawsuits against bars and restaurants have existed for over a century. Courts, however, failed to adopt adequate frameworks to determine when a business's actions become an actionable nuisance, what they can do to prevent the action, and when neighbors can recover. Bar noise and customer activities are the business actions that most commonly aggravate neighbors in Louisiana. Courts, however, inconsistently apply nuisance law, meaning there is little clarity on when neighbors can prevent the activities or recover damages. As a result, lawsuits against these businesses are often ineffective and require neighbors to sue multiple times for the same activities.
This Comment argues that in a state that prides itself on its nightlife, there must be a clearer standard for recovery when bars and restaurants irritate neighbors. Louisiana nuisance law lacks a clear proof of causation standard for businesses' actions, and neighbors should therefore pivot to other areas of the law to seek relief. Neighbors can better pursue claims under local noise ordinances or by giving local alcohol control boards broader enforcement power. These alternatives will drastically reduce court time, costs, and burdens for the average neighbor.
Courts must more consistently apply nuisance law to better balance bar and restaurant's interests with their neighbors' interests. Part II explains the sources of Louisiana nuisance law and available modes of recovery under them. Part III discusses how courts apply nuisance law to bar and restaurant activities. Part IV explores the ineffectiveness of nuisance law at regulating these businesses. Part V presents alternative options for neighbors to pursue in regulating nearby bars or restaurants. Part VI concludes that unless the nature of nuisance law changes, neighbors in cities like New Orleans will never use it to effectively regulate nearby bars or restaurants.
About the Author
Kathryn E. Schimmel, J.D. Candidate 2024, Tulane University Law School; B.S. 2021, Tulane University. I would like to thank my advisor, Dean Sally Richardson, for her guidance and encouragement and the members of Tulane Law Review for their assistance and hard work, without which publication of this Comment would not be possible. This Comment is dedicated to my family and friends as a thank you for their constant love and support.
Citation
98 Tul. L. Rev. 299