Casiano Sales v. Lozada Torres
Casiano Sales v. Lozada Torres
Opinion of the Court
delivered the opinion of the Court.
Plaintiffs-appellants alleged in the Superior Court of Puerto Rico, Mayagiiez Part, that the industrial process of a certain factory property of defendant-appellee, consisting in the manufacture and painting of metal windows and doors, and said factory being located near the residence of plaintiffs-appellants, prevents them from the comfortable enjoyment of their property, thereby impairing their well-being, as a result of the noise produced by the workers in the factory, the engines, and the handling of • the metal sheets for a period of fourteen or fifteen hours daily, except Sundays, and of the paint particles that penetrate into plaintiffs-appellants’ residence affecting their health and causing damage to their property.
In relation to the noises, the trial court considered as proved the following points: “As to plaintiffs’ complaint of having suffered damages by reason of the noises produced by the workers of said factory, we do consider as proved the fact that plaintiffs have suffered annoyances and inconveniences, although not since 1957 as alleged in the complaint, but since 1960 when defendant enlarged the factory extending it to the back thereof at a short distance from plaintiffs’ residence, it having been also proved that plaintiffs called his attention several times as to this matter and he did not take any steps to remedy the evil. The evidence showed that quite often the painters worked on the back part of the factory (in the) painting room until 9:00 p.m., causing the natural annoyance to plaintiffs with the noise produced in moving the windows and their loud conversation, the court having further verified in the inspection of
As to the disturbances that the painting industrial operations may have caused plaintiffs’ health, the trial court determined the following: “The aforementioned painting room is small, closed on three sides and with an exhaust fan at the rear which is supposed to extract the paint fumes and draw them out through a chimney on the northwestern corner of the factory, about 50 feet from plaintiff’s house; but, precisely, due to the fact that the front part of the room is open, in painting (the) windows with spray guns the paint fumes come out not through the back, through the exhaust fan, but also by the front and through the back wall of the factory, which as may be clearly seen from the
As essential conclusion of law the trial court made use of the doctrinal exposition of the case of Arcelay v. Sánchez, 77 P.R.R. 782, 790 (Sifre) (1955) which establishes: “Although in determining whether or not a certain venture constitutes a nuisance, the vicinity in which it is located is a relevant factor; and, notwithstanding the fact that persons who reside in districts where commercial and industrial establishments are operated, which are engaged in activities necessary and convenient for the public welfare and social progress, must put up with the natural and incidental annoyances and inconveniences caused thereby, without any legal remedy to avoid it, such fact in nowise implies that they are devoid of all protection if such activities, by the
Applying the doctrine of Arcelay v. Sanchez to the facts in this case, the trial court holds: “In the light of those principles, we are of the opinion that defendant has been operating said factory since 1960 up to the present without taking certain simple precautions to avoid noises not necessarily inherent in the operation of this industry, unnecessarily disturbing plaintiffs’ peaceful enjoyment of their home, plaintiffs being entitled to have restrictions imposed on defendant in the operation of said industry in order to put an end to said nuisances, § 277 of the Code of Civil Procedure, although we are of the opinion, on the other hand, that it is not proper to order defendant to pay damages,
Subsequent to the judgment, plaintiffs, appellants herein, requested the trial court to include also the following findings of fact: “(a) The chimney of the factory, allegedly used to discharge the paint fumes into the air, does not appear in the photographs offered and admitted in evidence as exhibits 1 and 2, and, likewise, in the inspection made on the premises, it was established that in said place there was no such chimney in operation, but some remnants of tin sheets completely separated from the place or hole through which the paint vapors or fumes were supposed to be discharged, and if there ever existed any chimney it was completely dismantled, (b) The hole or place through which the paint fumes were supposed to be discharged and where a chimney should exist is in front and under the trees, which according to the inspection were saturated with paint, (c) Defendant did not introduce any evidence to establish that the air cur
In deciding this motion the trial court added to the findings of fact proved, the first additional determination proposed by plaintiffs, that is: “The chimney of the factory allegedly used to discharge the paint fumes into the air, does not appear in the photographs offered and admitted in evidence as exhibits 1 and 2, and likewise, in the inspection made on the premises, it was established that in said place there was no such chimney in operation, but some remnants of tin sheets completely separated from the place or hole through which the paint vapors or fumes were supposed to be discharged, and if there ever existed any chimney it was completely dismantled,” and denied the others. It is convenient to state that the facts proposed in the additional findings of fact are covered by the evidence, and it does not
On review, plaintiffs-appellants assign as the only error of the trial court its having decided, as it did, that notwithstanding the fact that there existed a nuisance within the legal meaning of said term in § 277 of the Code of Civil Procedure of Puerto Rico, plaintiffs-appellants were not entitled to recover damages. We have elaborated more than necessary in the exposition of the antecedents of the case, because in view of the result obtained by the trial court in strictly applying the rule established in Arcelay v. Sánchez, supra, it may be convenient to comment said decision.
The law applicable to this case is § 277 of the Code of Civil Procedure of Puerto Rico: 32 L.P.R.A. § 2761 (p. 335) which provides: “Anything which is injurious to health, or indecent, or offensive to the senses, or an obstruction to the free use of property, so as to interfere with the comfortable enjoyment of life or property, is a nuisance, and the subject of an action. Such action may be brought by any person whose property is injuriously affected or whose personal enjoyment is lessened by the nuisance, and by the judgment the nuisance may be enjoined or abated, as well as damages recovered.”
After examining the doctrinal exposition of the case of Arcelay v. Sanchez as a whole it can be categorically affirmed that said case does not seek to restrict the beneficial effects of § 277 of the Code of Civil Procedure of 1904, or make a distinction as to the compensability based on the seriousness of the damages. The case of Arcelay v. Sánchez following the American industrial circumstance more than our own, object of careful public planning, has for its purpose to find that mutuality of the benefit between the
It is true that when certain concepts of a doctrine are taken separately, a precedent contrary to its true spirit may be obtained, one of the golden rules of the Digest being to work with the whole text of the law before determining its applicability. We notice that from the text copied above from the case of Arcelay the trial court points out, as the key concepts for the construction, the following words: “substantial”; “the injury must be real and appreciable”; “If it is shown that the other person’s rights have been seriously impaired.” Now let us see how the construction changes by limiting the concept when said concept is taken as a whole: “such fact in nowise implies that they are devoid of all protection if such activities, by the manner in which they are conducted, exceed the bounds of reasonableness and, as a result, the right which they also have to the comfortable enjoyment of life or property is destroyed or impaired, imposing a burden greater than they ought to be required. to bear, thereby upsetting the equilibrium or balance necessary to harmonize the parties’ correlative rights. When the balance ‘is upset by an activity which exceeds the bounds of reasonableness and does substantial and disproportionate injury to the peaceful possession of others, such activity is said to be a nuisance’ .... The injury must be real and appreciable, because the law does not concern itself with • slight -inconveniences and petty annoyances, or mere trifles.”
In applying § 277 of our Code of Civil Procedure, two purposes must be accomplished: (1) abate the nuisance to such an extent as to be compatible with the enjoyment of the property, and (2) compensate the damages caused up to the time of the trial. The existence of a nuisance bears relation of cause and effect on the damage suffered. In case
Now, then, having compared the set of facts presented in the case of Arcelay — a plant for the pasteurization of milk — with the facts in this case — a factory for the construction and painting of metal windows and doors — we believe that in this case plaintiffs-appellants should also be compensated for the noises and injurious substances circulating in the air inside their own house. Although the amount was not sufficient to produce poisoning, it was sufficient to create a nuisance resulting in vomiting, dizzy spells and some other physical ailment.
For the reasons stated, the judgment rendered by the Superior Court of Puerto Rico, Mayagiiez Part, on August 17, 1962 will be modified in the sense of ordering the reinstallation of a chimney at defendant’s factory, raising it a height that might avoid the circulation of injurious substances in plaintiffs-appellants’ residence and awarding plaintiffs-appellants’ the amount of $3,500 for damages suffered up to the time of the trial, including costs and $700 attorney’s fees.
" 1 It is possible that on certain occasions the characteristic odor of the paint may reach plaintiffs’ house and perhaps some things in said house may have been slightly spotted, but no damage could have been caused to plaintiffs by said minimum quantity of paint fumes, and the damage which said few articles may have suffered according to plaintiffs, and of which we are not convinced, is of very little value.”
Case-law data current through December 31, 2025. Source: CourtListener bulk data.