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• El Dorado Hills couple sues neighbor over cigarette smoke  

"In a senior community, you think we'll all be compatible and have the same values," said Richard Ganguet, a retired El Dorado County sheriff's deputy.

But three years after settling into their single-family home in El Dorado Hills' Four Seasons development, the Ganguets are suing their next-door neighbor over cigar and cigarette smoke they say wafts into their backyard and house.

Because of the smoke, the couple say, they no longer sit on their patio. They also try to sandwich in swims in the side-yard lap pool between their neighbors' smoking sessions.

Doug Smith, attorney for the neighboring homeowner, Florence Solone, said the issue is a trivial one that should be resolved by neighbors talking with each other, not with a lawsuit in El Dorado Superior Court.

But disputes between neighbors over secondhand smoke are increasingly making their way into courtrooms and city council chambers.

With smoking banned in workplaces, restaurants and bars, Californians are less willing to tolerate the smell of smoke in their houses or backyards, said Robin Salsburg, a staff attorney with the Oakland-based Public Health Institute's Public Health Law and Policy program.

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Menlo Park council considering beefed up smoking ordinance  

The Menlo Park City Council may consider a new smoking ordinance as soon as January that could ban lighting up in apartment and condominium buildings.

At a study session Tuesday night, council members agreed the city's existing 16-year-old ordinance needs updating and should likely include more restrictions on smoking.

However, most council members said they aren't yet ready to go as far as Belmont, where a law banning smoking in multilevel residential buildings went into effect at the beginning of this year.

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• $700,000 Monroe County Jury Award in Careless-Smoking Case  

A Monroe County jury has awarded $700,000 to the insurance company for the owner of a Marshalls Creek building that was destroyed by fire as a result of careless smoking by an employee of an electrical contractor, it was announced today.

The jury deliberated less than two hours at the end of a two-day trial before finding on behalf of Harleysville Insurance Company, represented by the Law Offices of Robert A. Stutman, of Ft. Washington, Pa, in the civil action stemming from the April 21, 2006, fire at the unoccupied building, a former Odd-Lot Outlet store, on Route 209 in Smithfield Township. The 20-year-old building, which was demolished following the fire, was in the process of being renovated into a day care center. Its owner was local developer Frank Riccobono.

Daniel Hogan, Esq., who tried the case for the plaintiff, established that the only possible cause of the fire was careless smoking by one of the two employees of the electrical contractor that had been working in the attic of the two-story structure. Investigators determined that the discarded, smoldering cigarette from the worker ignited the aged attic insulation, which over time loses fire-retardant qualities.

"The worker never admitted smoking while in the attic, where the fire started, that day," said Hogan. "But he testified to carrying cigarettes and a lighter to work and to having been a habitual smoker."

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• VIDEO: Homebuyers face questions on alcohol and smoking under new mortgage rules  

Homebuyers could be forced to provide detailed information about the amount of money they spend on alcohol each month to qualify for a new mortgage under a new clampdown on reckless lending.

In a sweeping review of the mortgage market published today, the Financial Services Authority (FSA) said lenders needed to be far more rigorous about their financial checks of potential borrowers.

It said lenders should delve deeper into homebuyers' personal spending including the amount they spend on alcohol and tobacco. . . .

The new measures, which aim to stamp out risky lending that has been criticised for compounding the financial crisis and tipping hundreds of thousands of homebuyers into negative equity, also include a plan to ban self-certified mortgages, dubbed "liar's loans", and to stop lenders from exploiting consumers who have fallen behind on their mortgage payments.

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Peel pushing for smoke-free apartments, 

If Peel's top public health officials have their way, no one in Mississauga will be able to light up a cigarette in an apartment or condo because it could affect the health of other residents of the building.

Peel officials are lobbying to ban smoking from apartments and condos to reduce the harm caused by breathing second-hand smoke.

If their push is successful, apartment dwellers won't be able to smoke in their own homes.

On Thursday, Peel council will examine a report co-authored by Commissioner of Health Services Janette Smith, and Dr. David Mowat, Peel's medical officer of health.

Their report says Peel Public Health has received complaints from apartment tenants about smoke seeping into their homes.

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• Smoking ban urged for Peel condos and apartments  

Peel's top public health officials are lobbying to ban smoking from apartments and condos in an effort to limit second-hand smoke inhalation.

If their push is successful, apartment dwellers would not be able to smoke in their own homes.

The region's council is going to examine a report co-authored by Commissioner of Health Services Janette Smith, and Dr. David Mowat, Peel's medical officer of health.

Their report says that Peel Public Health has received complaints from apartment tenants about smoke seeping into their homes.

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Health unit pushes for inclusion of apartments, condos in anti-smoking act 

TORONTO — Peel Public Health is pushing Queen's Park to add more restrictions to the Smoke-Free Ontario Act.

The health unit wants the province to enact legislation that protects residents in multi-unit dwellings from exposure to second-hand smoke.

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Peel Public Health wants apartment buildings smoke-free 

Peel Public Health wants Ontario to take its smoking ban one step further by enacting legislation that protects residents in multi-unit dwellings from exposure to second-hand tobacco smoke.

“Peel Public Health has received several complaints from tenants of such dwellings about the potential adverse health effects and nuisance of second-hand tobacco smoke drifting into their living space,” reads a report to Peel Region council, drafted by Janette Smith, Commissioner of Health Services and Dr. David Mowat, medical officer of health. “Non-smoking residents of multi-unit dwellings have the right to enjoy their residence without enduring the negative health effects and nuisance associated with second-hand smoke.”

The Smoke-Free Ontario Act (SFOA) already prohibits smoking in all enclosed public places and workplaces.

Now, Peel Public Health wants Queen’s Park to amend the SFOA to include multi-unit apartment buildings.

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Peel Public Health wants apartment buildings smoke-free 

BRAMPTON - Peel Public Health wants Ontario to take its smoking ban one step further by enacting legislation that protects residents in multi-unit dwellings from exposure to second-hand tobacco smoke.

“Peel Public Health has received several complaints from tenants of such dwellings about the potential adverse health effects and nuisance of second-hand tobacco smoke drifting into their living space,” reads a report to Peel Region council, drafted by Janette Smith, Commissioner of Health Services and Dr. David Mowat, medical officer of health. “Non-smoking residents of multi-unit dwellings have the right to enjoy their residence without enduring the negative health effects and nuisance associated with second-hand smoke.”

The Smoke-Free Ontario Act (SFOA) already prohibits smoking in all enclosed public places and workplaces.

Now, Peel Public Health wants Queen’s Park to amend the SFOA to include multi-unit apartment buildings. . . .

Peel Health’s report on banning smoking in multi-unit dwellings will be presented to councillors during Thursday’s General Committee meeting.

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Public housing smoking ban considered 

A new law could mean the end of smoking within public housing in Stillwater.

Congress passed the Family Smoking Prevention and Tobacco Control Act earlier this year, and President Barack Obama signed the bill this summer.

Stillwater Public Housing Authority Executive Director L. Glen Redding said he will draft a revised policy for review and vote by the authority no later than February. The updated policy could go into affect as early as March, he said.

The authority has banned smoking in public housing common areas since 1985, he said, and this proposal would extend the ban to individual homes.

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SALETAN: Condo Leakage 

Two years ago, Belmont, Calif., outlawed smoking in apartments and condos with shared floors or ceilings. Then last year, two New York condo owners sued their neighbor for lighting up in her apartment and "causing smoke to enter into the common hallway." Now comes another court fight: According to the Dallas Morning News, a local woman is suing her ex-neighbor and her ex-landlord "for damage she says was caused by cigarette smoke wafting through adjoining walls of her high-end townhome." . . .

look how it's pushing the envelope of indoor smoking restrictions. . . .

If this claim succeeds, the ADA may become a weapon in future indoor smoking suits. Then there's the lease. "This lease says I have a right to a habitable place, this lease says I have a right to quiet enjoyment, this lease says I have a right to safe living," says the plaintiff. So even if health effects can't be proved, lease clauses implying peace or habitability can be invoked. . . .

Find out whether your incoming tenants or condo buyers smoke, and check with the neighbors who await them. If you don't, you may end up with a mess on your hands.

If landlords, property managers, smokers, and nonsmokers don't take such precautions, some courts and legislators are clearly willing to step in. In the Dallas case, the Morning News reports that "a judge issued a temporary restraining order forbidding [the smoker] from lighting up in her home." That's right: a court order not to smoke in your bathroom. Pretty outrageous, I'd say. But so is having your bathroom invaded by smoke from next door. If you don't want the government bringing its long arms and clumsy feet into such disputes, work them out beforehand.

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• No-smoking strategy: Apartment buildings start bans to draw new renters, keep peace among existing ones 

Warren Nisley liked the "green" features of the new Morgan at Loyola Station in Rogers Park when he was apartment hunting.

The mixed-use building near Loyola University Chicago has 152 apartments, is near public transportation and boasts eco-friendly features such as water-saving fixtures and efforts to improve internal air quality with low-gas-emitting paints and a no-smoking policy for all residents and guests.

The smoke-free environment wasn't the only criterion for deciding to live in the building, but it was part of a package that Nisley, 52, found appealing. . . .

The first no-smoking sections in restaurants appeared 30 years ago. Since then, smoking increasingly has been banned in commercial and public buildings because of concerns about second-hand smoke and a growing consumer demand for better quality air. But in Chicago, smoke-free apartments have been concentrated in smaller, privately owned buildings or privately owned units.

Jennifer Wolf, AMLI Residential's senior vice president for development, said the company chose to prohibit smoking in AMLI 900 to meet requirements to improve internal air quality, among other things, for LEED certification.

Wolf said the project, which opened in November, is on track to be the first new-construction high-rise apartment in Chicago to be LEED-certified, a measure of environmental sensitivity and sustainability.

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• Townhome resident's suit says cigarette smoke made her sick, harmed property; managers say damage unlikely  

A Dallas woman has filed a lawsuit seeking six figures from a former neighbor and landlord for damage she says was caused by cigarette smoke wafting through adjoining walls of her high-end townhome.

"Smoking is not a right, it's a privilege," said Chris Daniel, a retired nurse. "I'm sorry that people smoke. I think it's foolish, but when it comes into my house and hurts my health and my daughter's health and our belongings, it's a different issue."

The case is being watched by townhouse industry groups across the area.

A manager and attorney for Estancia Townhomes, a 52-building community near Prestonwood Country Club in North Dallas, said it's unlikely the Daniels sustained any smoke damage. There is a solid, two-hour fire wall from the foundation to the roof between each of the homes. . . .

Chris Daniel and her daughter, Cary, say in the lawsuit that a construction defect is allowing smoke to migrate between the units.

After a year of stinging eyes, breathing difficulty and sinus pain, they moved out of Estancia and into the Homewood Suites in Addison. Last week, movers wearing surgical masks loaded trucks with their belongings.

The Daniels said furniture will need to be reupholstered, artwork restored and closets full of clothing dry cleaned. The bills are still piling up.

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• Waterloo region considers smoking ban in public housing after residents’ complaints 

Complaints from tenants about second-hand smoke have prompted Waterloo Region to consider banning smoking in their multi-unit dwellings.

“In general, I would support some kind of restrictions with respect to second-hand smoke” said Coun. Sean Strickland, chair of regional council’s community services committee, which oversees regional housing.

A report on the issue is slated to be before regional council next month.

Strickland said the issue is riddled with concerns such as a municipality’s right to prohibit a person from smoking in their own home to enforcement of such a ban.

The region receives an average of five calls a month from tenants complaining about second-hand smoke seeping into their dwellings from other units and open windows.

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NEWORTH: Passing the butt on smoking 

In January the City Council banned smoking from common areas of apartment buildings and condominiums throughout Santa Monica. The law went into effect in February, though in my building the signs didn't go up until July. (Apparently there was a sudden shortage of sign makers.)

The ordinance allows victims of secondhand smoke to file for a court injunction or collect $100 in damages. If the art of politics is epitomized when all sides feel slightly dissatisfied, this law could be called artful. . . .

While I jokingly suggest that the council has "passed the butt," I readily admit that I have no easy answers. (I'm happy if I have easy questions.) Lately, some residents in my building have mutually agreed upon hours when the smoker smokes and the neighbor shuts his/her windows. That seems almost too civilized.

Hopefully, technology may help. Type in your browser "electronic cigarettes" and see for yourself. Unfortunately they're getting poor health reviews from the FDA though maybe the science will improve. In the meantime the city of Calabasas adopted an ordinance that creates smoking-permitted and non-smoking units and separates the two.

By all accounts the Calabasas system seems to be working well. If a program like this ultimately becomes a viable compromise, I just hope no one calls it a Nazi scheme. Then again, I probably wouldn't be all that surprised if they do.

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