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Coming to the Nuisance
Georgia lawmakers are considering a bill that would protect farmers from nuisance lawsuits after a farm has been operating for a year. Such a bill would be unnecessary if “coming to the nuisance” was understood and applied properly. Coming to the nuisance essentially means “first in time, first in rights.” A property owner has a…
Fighting Zoning in Houston
This post is the third in a series. In early January 1990 (I think it was January 1) the local newspaper carried a story that a Houston City Councilman was going to introduce a zoning ordinance. A friend called me that day and suggested that we fight the ordinance. I immediately agreed. Over the next…
First in Time
Nightclubs can make for very poor neighbors. Loud noise, traffic, and drunken patrons can be disruptive to the residents of nearby homes. These types of nuisances are the basis for a controversy brewing in Abilene. A developer wants to build housing for low-income families near a nightclub. The club’s owner fears that the residents of…
Property Rights and Pollution, Part 3
In Part 1, we examined the “tragedy of the commons.” In Part 2, we examined how property rights can be applied to water. In Part 3, we will examine how property rights can be applied to air. The following is an excerpt from The Innovator Versus the Collective. In the case of air, nuisance laws provide…
Solving Social Conflicts
Virtually every social conflict can be solved with a proper understanding of property rights. As an example, consider the frequent claims that a business has engaged in discriminatory practices. The right to property means the freedom to create, attain, use, keep, trade, and dispose of material values. It means that the owner of a parcel…