Mediation; Property Rights; Nuisance; Surface Water
A couple found and bought their "dream home" mansion in an exclusive country club residential development, only to find soon thereafter that their next door neighbor was building a fence which blocked the sunlight and shaded the dream home's pool area, and also was diverting the natural flow of surface water into a drainage ditch creating an unsightly and flood-prone culvert near the pool. After neighbor-to-neighbor negotiations failed to solve the problem, lawyers were hired, expert engineers were retained, and a lawsuit was initiated. Expensive discovery and a lengthy trial were avoided, however, when the lawyers took the case to Keegan, who mediated the case to a resolution acceptable to both parties.
