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Keywords

motionzoning

plaintiffdefendantmotionzoning

Related Cases

Swerdlick v. Koch, 721 A.2d 849, 27 Media L. Rep. 1801

Facts

Gerald and Catherine Swerdlick operated a mail-order business from their home in Westerly, Rhode Island, which violated local zoning ordinances. Their neighbor, Robert Koch, began observing and documenting the business activities, including taking photographs and reporting to the zoning inspector. Despite the Swerdlicks' claims of emotional distress due to Koch's surveillance, the evidence showed that Koch's actions were based on public observations and did not involve any physical intrusion onto their property.

On David Avenue, a dead-end street in the Town of Westerly (town), plaintiffs and defendant lived only a few homes apart from one another in a residential neighborhood. In the early 1980s, Gerald, who was legally blind in one eye and totally blind in the other, began selling visual aids for the blind and visually handicapped. Thereafter, in the mid–1980s, he started a mail-order business from his home called Electronic Visual Aid Specialists (EVAS). Assisted by his wife and several employees, EVAS's sales volume grew as the years passed to the point that plaintiffs began to use their garage for the receiving, warehousing, assembling, and shipping of EVAS products. From September 1989 through December 1989, Gerald received product deliveries from various shipping and delivery services at least once or twice a day for up to five days a week. (The defendant testified that upon his retirement in February 1989, he observed deliveries occurring four times a day at least five days a week.) The defendant initially noticed a tractor-trailer truck at plaintiffs' home in 1987, and thereafter, the regular coming and going of the delivery trucks and automobiles steadily increased.

Issue

Did Robert Koch violate the Swerdlicks' statutory right to privacy, and were his actions sufficient to support claims of intentional and negligent infliction of emotional distress?

Rule

The court applied the statutory provisions regarding the right to privacy, which protect against unreasonable intrusions upon physical solitude or seclusion, and established that public activities do not constitute a violation of privacy rights.

Analysis

The court determined that Koch's surveillance and documentation of the Swerdlicks' business activities occurred in public view and did not constitute an unreasonable intrusion. The Swerdlicks had no reasonable expectation of privacy regarding activities visible to their neighbors. Furthermore, the court found that Koch's reports to the zoning inspector were based on truthful observations and did not constitute defamation.

Conclusion

The Supreme Court affirmed the dismissal of the Swerdlicks' claims, concluding that Koch's actions did not violate their privacy rights and that there was insufficient evidence to support claims of emotional distress.

Who won?

Robert Koch prevailed in the case because the court found that his actions were lawful and did not constitute a violation of the Swerdlicks' privacy rights.

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