Neighbors fight over pizza oven went to trial

[Tom Montgomery]

.
This dispute has been going on since 2017.

The defendants had installed a brick pizza oven in their backyard. The plaintiffs - the Jones couple - were asking for $25,000 in damages and charged that:

- The significant physical discomfort caused by defendants’ use, maintenance and operation of the oven includes coughing, sore throat, phlegm, headaches, burning eyes, dizziness, lightheadedness, fogginess, heart palpitations and sore lungs; the effects of the smoke and fumes last for a few days. Smoke odors linger on the Joneses’ clothing and hair and on their pets’ fur.

- The smoke and fumes from the oven disrupt the Joneses’ use and enjoyment of the Jones residence for cooking and eating, sitting and reading, sitting on their back porch and in their living room, exercise and many other aspects of the Joneses’ daily life.

- The smoke and fumes from the oven disrupt and prevent the Joneses’ social and family gatherings including holiday events at the Jones property and the Jones residence.

- Regardless of the presence or absence of visible smoke, the oven releases noxious fumes and odors at all times it is being used and operated.
The periods of intense, thick smoke can last 20 minutes or more. During and between periods of thick, billowing smoke, the smoke and fumes infiltrate and remain present inside the Jones residence.

Under oath, before a jury of eight, the Jones couple admitted that prior to filing their lawsuit they had joined the defendants for pizza and had enjoyed it.

Yesterday afternoon the jury came to a unanimous verdict.

Cuyahoga Co. jury finds Cleveland Heights outdoor pizza oven not to be a nuisance

Neighborhood battle now heading toward its sixth year





By: Joe Pagonakis
Posted at 8:18 PM, Feb 02, 2023 and last updated 10:15 PM, Feb 02, 2023


CLEVELAND HEIGHTS, Ohio — It took a Cuyahoga County jury about 20-minutes to decide a Cleveland Heights outdoor pizza oven was not a nuisance, ending yet another chapter to a nearly six-year neighborhood battle.

The fight over the backyard pizza oven owned by Paul Schambs and Mary Lynne Newsome was the subject of a civil lawsuit filed by neighbor Brooks Jones and his wife.

The lawsuit, which sought $25,000 in damages, removal of the pizza oven and more, claims the smoke and fumes have hampered living conditions for Jones and his wife.

The lawsuit claims, "Defendants’ use and operation of the oven has caused intolerable smoke and fumes at the Jones Residence, and has caused significant physical discomfort, mental anguish, and loss of use and enjoyment of the Jones Residence."

But after three days of testimony and video exhibits the jury ruled the outdoor pizza oven was not an issue, leaving Newsome, who spoke exclusively with News 5, feeling vindicated by the verdict.

“We're pleased that the jury took the time to really review this and examine all the facts and to rule in our favor," said Newsome. "It was not only for the freedom for our backyard, but all the Cleveland Heights residents and other communities outside of Cleveland Heights to be able to use their backyards."

Both Newsome and Schambs gave thanks to their attorneys Sam Meadows and Nick Siciliano for working on the case for nearly two years.

The couple said they would fire up the oven for some private gatherings or to make pizza for themselves a couple dozen times a year.

The neighborhood battle over the pizza oven, which started in 2017, had Jones going public about his complaints during a July 15, 2019, Cleveland Heights city council meeting.

“We’ve had an ongoing problem with smoke from a neighbor's outdoor wood-burning pizza oven," Jones told city council. "The oven is directly in line with our main living area and is located less than 50 feet away.”

Jones added fuel to the fire in his argument against the pizza oven.

“The smoke from the oven is a huge problem during firings which last anywhere from 3 to 10 hours," said Jones. “We can not comfortably live in our home, the most effective remedy to date is to leave our home to avoid the extra discomfort that we experience.”

News 5 tried to reach Jones at his home and called his attorney but we are still waiting for a response.

News 5 took the case to Cleveland Heights city hall and we were given a copy of a 2019 ruling that found the pizza oven was not in violation of existing city ordinance.

Jones now has 30-days to file an appeal in the case.

https://www.news5cleveland.com/news/...not-a-nuisance

[P.I. Stazzer-Newt]

Can it really be a "pizza" oven, if it is located outside of NY?

[Paul Pless]

not a chance

[Figment]

I'm a fairly big pizza guy. (go ahead, I've teed it up for you)

I make good pizza and fairly frequently.

I cannot imagine ever making enough pizza to warrant building something like that.

[Joe (SoCal)]

He probably put ham & pineapple on it, I would bring a lawsuit if he was my neighbor as well

[Ian McColgin]

One builds such an oven and then uses it so little as a vanity bit to show off. Probably could have averted all problems with a taller stack.

[Paul Pless]

He probably put ham & pineapple on it, I would bring a lawsuit if he was my neighbor as well

i went to try a new pizza place out last night
they had a prosciutto and 'charred' pineapple pie

they also had a 'cubano' - shredded pork, mozzarella, ham, jarlseburg, red onions, pickles, over a mustard base

i wasn't feeling that adventurous so i went with sausage and peppers

[Joe (SoCal)]

Just because it's cooked dough, with some s#it on it, doesn't make it pizza.

[Garret]

i went to try a new pizza place out last night
they had a prosciutto and 'charred' pineapple pie

they also had a 'cubano' - shredded pork, mozzarella, ham, jarlseburg, red onions, pickles, over a mustard base

i wasn't feeling that adventurous so i went with sausage and peppers

I had a prosciutto, sauteed red onion, & pineapple pie a couple of weeks ago. It was delicious.

[wizbang 13]

My neighbor built an oven like that ‘bout ten years ago. Looks like a ringer actually.
lives about a quarter mile away.

[L.A Marche]

I built ours last summer, cooks far more than zza.84792243-DA5E-4EFE-8B7B-1F4A1DD1059D.jpg

[Nicholas Carey]

I want to know what they're burning in that oven to generate "dense", "noxious fumes and smoke"?

If that oven was designed right, seems like it should be drawing like a vacuum cleaner, and the fire ought to be fast, very hot and nearly smoke-free.

[LeeG]

If the oven really is 50’ away I could see w some wind conditions it could be bothersome to smell smoke for most of a day. Nice oven.

[LeeG]

I want to know what they're burning in that oven to generate "dense", "noxious fumes and smoke"?

If that oven was designed right, seems like it should be drawing like a vacuum cleaner, and the fire ought to be fast, very hot and nearly smoke-free.

One day someone is grumpy, the windows are open, the wood isn’t dry, the wind unfavorable etc, etc

[stromborg]

Backyard fires are notorious for creating neighbor-vs-neighbor disputes. There are rules about what you can and cannot do within city limits but I've lost count of the number of times somebody has called in an "illegal burn" that turns out to be a family essentially cooking hotdogs over an open fire. FWIW if what you are burning looks like firewood or charcoal it is probably going to be ok, but dimensional lumber and shrubbery not so much. The rules are trying to tread a fine line between "recreational/ceremonial/cooking fires" and burning more noxious waste like treated/painted lumber from a remodel or the laurel hedge trimmings you didn't feel like hauling to the dump.

That's how it works in Seattle, YMMV

[stromborg]

I built ours last summer, cooks far more than zza.84792243-DA5E-4EFE-8B7B-1F4A1DD1059D.jpg

Nice. I see you went for the "barrel". I have a spot cleared out for one and I'm waffling between barrel and dome, how did you decide?

[P.I. Stazzer-Newt]

A friend built one - dome shaped and from the copious quantity of stone in the garden - he called it a "Beehive Oven" - but I've not seen him cook a beehive.

[Bobcat]

Lawsuit between neighbors are almost always about more than appears on the court pleadings. And they often go to trial because the neighbors hate each other.

My daughter sat on the jury in a case where one neighbor had his garden cut down another neighbor's trees to improve the view. The two fought it out in court for several days. The cutting neighbor lost and owed treble damages and attorney fees for intentional timber trespass.

[AlanMc]

my buddy loves running his wood fireplace in the winter for heat. his moron for a neighbor complained about him using his fireplace bc of the smoke (a 2 story chimney no less). he actually asked him if he could make the smoke "go the other way".

[Garret]

my buddy loves running his wood fireplace in the winter for heat. his moron for a neighbor complained about him using his fireplace bc of the smoke (a 2 story chimney no less). he actually asked him if he could make the smoke "go the other way".

Has the neighbor also asked the highway dept. to have deer crossings moved to more convenient locations?

[David G]

Face it... some people are just jerks.

One of our boating group built a portable version of that oven. We use it for messabouts, and turn it into a Pizza Production Line. Great stuff for camping!!!

[L.A Marche]

Nice. I see you went for the "barrel". I have a spot cleared out for one and I'm waffling between barrel and dome, how did you decide?

We wanted to do bread, roasts and bagels but mostly because I had a rectangular steel base that was more suited for a barrel shape.184C72B9-183C-4922-8D6F-AF3085686D66.jpg