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Susquehanna Fertilizer Co. v. Malone, 73 Md. 268, 20 A. 900, 9 L.R.A. 737, 25 Am.St.Rep. 595

Facts

David Malone owned five dwelling-houses in Canton, a suburb of Baltimore, with one house operated as a public house. The adjacent Susquehanna Fertilizer Company factory emitted noxious gases that caused discomfort to Malone and his tenants, damaging their property and affecting their health. Despite conflicting evidence from the defendant, the jury was tasked with determining the validity of Malone's claims regarding the factory's impact on his property.

The evidence on the part of the plaintiff shows that this factory is used by the defendant for the manufacture of sulphuric acid and commercial fertilizers; that noxious gases escape therefrom, and are driven by the wind upon the premises of the plaintiff, and of his tenants; that they are so offensive and noxious as to affect the health of the plaintiff's family, and at times to oblige them to leave the table, and even to abandon the house.

Issue

Did the operation of the Susquehanna Fertilizer Company's factory constitute a nuisance that interfered with the reasonable enjoyment of Malone's property?

Rule

A business that causes substantial injury or interferes with the reasonable enjoyment of neighboring property can be deemed a nuisance, regardless of the legality or public utility of the business.

No principle is better settled than that where a trade or business is carried on in such a manner as to interfere with the reasonable and comfortable enjoyment by another of his property, or which occasions material injury to the property itself, a wrong is done to the neighboring owner, for which an action will lie.

Analysis

The court applied the established legal principle that the operation of a business causing a nuisance is actionable, regardless of its legality or the convenience of its location. The jury was instructed to consider whether the noxious gases emitted from the factory constituted a substantial interference with Malone's enjoyment of his property, which they found to be the case based on the evidence presented.

The only case which gives countenance to such a doctrine is Hole v. Barlow, 4 C. B. (N. S.) 334, (decided in 1858,) in which it was held that, if the place where the bricks were burnt was a proper and convenient place for the purpose, the defendant was entitled to a verdict, not withstanding the burning of the bricks may have interfered with the physical comfort of the plaintiff.

Conclusion

The court affirmed the jury's verdict in favor of Malone, concluding that the defendant's factory operation was a nuisance that caused actionable injury to Malone's property.

Judgment affirmed.

Who won?

David Malone prevailed in the case because the court found that the noxious emissions from the fertilizer factory constituted a nuisance that interfered with his property rights.

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