Spur Industries, Inc. v. Del E. Webb Development Co.

Supreme Court of Arizona · 1972 · Torts

TortsPropertynuisancecoming to the nuisanceinjunctioncompensationpublic nuisanceprivate nuisance

Facts

Spur and its predecessors established and expanded a cattle feedlot in a previously agricultural area of western Maricopa County, where feedlots and similar operations were common and lawful. Del Webb later purchased nearby farmland and developed Sun City, a large residential retirement community, expanding southward until homes and lots approached the feedlot. As Sun City became populous, odors and flies from Spur's operation affected residents in the southern part of the development, causing complaints and sales resistance. Del Webb sued, alleging the feedlot had become a public nuisance.

Issue

When a business is lawful where established but becomes a nuisance because a developer later creates a nearby residential community, may the business be enjoined at the developer's suit? If so, may the developer be required to indemnify the business for the reasonable costs of moving or shutting down when the developer foreseeably brought people to the nuisance?

Rule

A lawful business that is not a nuisance per se may become a public nuisance when carried on in a place where the health, comfort, or convenience of a populous neighborhood is affected. A party who suffers special injury from a public nuisance has standing to seek an injunction. But in equity, when a developer foreseeably brings a population into a previously agricultural or industrial area, thereby making it necessary to enjoin a lawful business that otherwise has no adequate relief, the developer must indemnify the business for a reasonable amount of the costs of moving or shutting down.

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One of 10 multiple-choice questions for this case. Pick an answer to see why.

For 15 years, Prairie Crest Rendering has lawfully operated a waste-processing plant outside Lubbock, Texas, in an area long used for agricultural businesses. Later, Mesa Vista Communities bought nearby farmland and built a 4,000-home retirement development. After residents moved in, flies and odors from the plant spread through the southern half of the subdivision, and Mesa Vista lost sales on its remaining lots.

If Mesa Vista sues to enjoin the plant, which result is most consistent with the governing rule?

Explanation. A lawful business that is not a nuisance per se may become a public nuisance when, in light of locality and surroundings, it affects the health, comfort, or convenience of a populous neighborhood. A private party may seek to enjoin a public nuisance if that party suffers a special injury, such as distinct economic loss from lost sales. Thus Mesa Vista can seek injunctive relief if the plant's operation now substantially affects a considerable number of residents. (Derived from Spur Industries, Inc. v. Del E. Webb Development Co. (1972).)