Zangrando v. Kuder

Plaintiff and his wife owned a condominium that is part of a 28-unit condo association.  In May 2002, the defendant and her husband rented the unit next to the plaintiff’s unit.  Several times per day, the defendant smoked on a small, shared front porch that joins her unit with the plaintiff’s unit.  The plaintiff often asked the defendant to move about 30 feet away to smoke; the defendant refused.  The plaintiff then wrote letters to the condo Association’s trustees to try to resolve the problem; the officials refused.  In April 2003, the plaintiff hired an attorney to try to negotiate a resolution to the problem.  After that effort failed, the plaintiff filed a lawsuit in January 2004, seeking $25,000 in compensatory damages and $100,000 in punitive damages and an order that the defendant not be allowed to smoke on the porch..  In July 2004, the defendant and her family moved to another residence.  In September 2004, a jury rendered a verdict for the defendant.  See Farkas, K., “Man Sues Smoker in Next Condo; She Will Puff in Back Yard Till Trial,” Plain Dealer (Cleveland, OH), January 29, 2004, A1, Farkas, K., “Assault-by-Smoke Trial Fires Up Today,” Plain Dealer (Cleveland, OH), June 28, 2004, Farkas, K., “Secondhand–Smoke Suit Fumes in Court,” Plain Dealer (Cleveland, OH), September 20, 2004, Chancellor, C., “Smoking Dispute Goes Before Jury,” Beacon Journal (Akron, OH), September 21, 2004, Miller, M., “Smoker Defends Actions,” Beacon Journal (Akron, OH), September 22, 2004, Trexler, P., “Smoking Opponent Criticized As Whiner,” Beacon Journal (Akron, OH), September 23, 2004, Trexler, P., “Neighbor Kept Track of Smoking Incidents,” Beacon Journal (Akron, OH), September 24, 2004, Trexler, P., “Man Illustrates Case Against Ex-Neighbor,” Beacon Journal (Akron, OH), September 25, 2004, Farkas, K., “Nonsmoking Jury Sides with Smoker in Lawsuit,” Plain Dealer (Cleveland, OH), September 28, 2004, Trexler, P., “Smoker Cleared in Civil Lawsuit,” Beacon Journal (Akron, OH), September 28, 2004, A-1, Schunk, A., Stow (OH) Sentry, October 3, 2004, 1.

The Court of Appeals of Ohio, Ninth Appellate District, Summit County, at 2006 Ohio 1549, 2006 Ohio App. LEXIS 1442, affirmed the judgment, ruling that plaintiff had received a fair trial and that the trial court’s jury instructions were not in error.

(Summit County (OH) Court of Common Pleas, 2004).