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1. Nuisance violates public rights, subverts public order, decency or morals; or
2. Causes inconvenience or damage to the public generally; and
3. Plaintiff suffers a special injury different in degree or kind from the damage suffered by the public.

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1. Nuisance violates public rights, subverts public order, decency or morals; or
2. Causes inconvenience or damage to the public generally; and
3. Plaintiff suffers a special injury different in degree or kind from the damage suffered by the public.

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FLORIDA STATE COURTS

Supreme Court: Renard v. Dade Cty., 261 So. 2d 832, 835 (Fla. 1972); Page v. Niagara Chem. Div. F. M. & C. Corp., 68 So. 2d 382, 384 (Fla. 1953)

Second District: Rush v. St. Petersburg, 205 So. 2d 11, 15 (Fla. 2d DCA 1967)

Third District: Bal Harbour Vill. v. Welsh, 879 So. 2d 1265, 1267 (Fla. 3d DCA 2004); Detournay v. City of Coral Gables, 127 So. 3d 869, 880 (Fla. 3d DCA 2013) .

Fourth District: Harbor Beach Surf Club v. Water Taxi, 711 So. 2d 1230, 1232 (Fla. 4th DCA 1998).

Fifth District: Provitola v. Comer, 225 So. 3d 347, 348 (Fla. 5th DCA 2017).

FLORIDA STATE COURTS

Middle District: Grayson v. Lockheed Martin Corp., 6:20-CV-1770-RBD-GJK, 2021 WL 2873465, at *3 (M.D. Fla. May 13, 2021)

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2 Defenses to Claim for Public Nuisance

(1) R. Civ. P. 1.110(d) (pleading affirmative defenses), and other standard defenses. See § 1.

(2) Statute of Limitations: 95.11(3)(o), Fla. Stat. (four years).

(3) An activity can be in compliance with a “legislative mandate or administrative rule” and still be an abatable nuisance. State ex rel. Shevin v. Tampa Elec. Co., 291 So.2d 45, 48 (Fla. 2d DCA 1974).

(4) An individual can only maintain an action for a public nuisance when he or she suffers “special damages or injury different in kind and degree from the rest of the community.” Harbor Beach Surf Club v. Water Taxi, 711 So. 2d 1230, 1232 (Fla. 4th DCA 1998).

(5) If suit is brought by a citizen of the county “in the name of the state,” it may be maintained without needing to prove special damages or injury. State ex rel. Gardner v. Sailboat Key, Inc., 295 So. 2d 658, 660 (Fla. 3d DCA 1974).

(6) The alleged nuisance must constitute a public nuisance under the law. Penelas v. Arms Tech., Inc., 99-1941 CA-06, 1999 WL 1204353, at *4 (Fla. Cir. Ct. Dec. 13, 1999) (holding that public nuisance does not apply to the design, manufacture, and distribution of a lawful product).

(7) A party cannot be held liable for a nuisance “absent control of the activity which creates the nuisance.” Penelas v. Arms Tech., Inc., 99-1941 CA-06, 1999 WL 1204353, at *4 (Fla. Cir. Ct. Dec. 13, 1999).

(8) Sovereign Immunity. See Fish & Wildlife Conser. Comm’n v. Daws, No. 1D16-4839 2018 WL 1720973 (Fla. 1st DCA April 10, 2018).

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