Shore v. Maple Lane Farms, LLC

• Decision Date: 19 August 2013
• Docket Number: No. E2011–00158–SC–R11–CV.,E2011–00158–SC–R11–CV.
• Citation: 411 S.W.3d 405
• Parties: Velda J. SHORE v. MAPLE LANE FARMS, LLC et al.
• Court: Tennessee Supreme Court

411 S.W.3d 405

Velda J. SHORE

v.MAPLE LANE FARMS, LLC et al.

No. E2011–00158–SC–R11–CV.

Supreme Court of Tennessee, at Knoxville.

Jan. 3, 2013 Session.

Aug. 19, 2013.

Michael H. Meares, Maryville, Tennessee, for the appellant, Velda J. Shore.

John T. Johnson, Jr., Knoxville, Tennessee, for the appellees, Maple Lane Farms, LLC, Robert A. Schmidt d/b/a Maple Lane Farms, and Al Schmidt d/b/a Maple Lane Farms.

Julie P. Bowling and Edward K. Lancaster, Columbia, Tennessee, for the amicus curiae, Tennessee Farm Bureau Federation, Tennessee Agritourism Association, Tennessee Fruit and Vegetable Association, Tennessee Soybean Association, Tennessee Farm Winegrowers Alliance, and Tennessee Cattlemen's Association.

OPINION

WILLIAM C. KOCH, JR., J., delivered the opinion of the Court, in which GARY R. WADE, C.J., JANICE M. HOLDER, CORNELIA A. CLARK, and SHARON G. LEE, JJ., joined.

WILLIAM C. KOCH, JR., J.

This appeal involves a dispute over the noise from amplified music concerts being conducted on farm land in rural Blount County. After the business owners who hosted the concerts defied the county zoning authority's order limiting the concerts to one per year, a neighboring property owner filed suit in the Chancery Court for Blount County seeking to abate the concerts as a common-law nuisance and to enforce the decision of the county board of zoning appeals. The trial court granted the defendants' motion for an involuntary dismissal at the close of the plaintiff's proof, finding that the Tennessee Right to Farm Act, Tenn.Code Ann. §§ 43–26–101 to –104 (2007), precluded nuisance liability and that the concerts were exempted from the local land use regulations because they qualified as “agriculture.” The Court of Appeals affirmed. Shore v. Maple Lane Farms, LLC, No. E2011–00158–COA–R3–CV, 2012 WL 1245606 (Tenn.Ct.App. Apr. 11, 2012). We granted the plaintiff homeowner permission to appeal. We hold that the trial court erred by granting the motion to dismiss because the plaintiff homeowner presented a prima facie case of common-law nuisance and because the concerts are not “agriculture” for the purpose of the zoning laws.

I.

Beginning in the mid–1980s, Robert Schmidt and his family acquired approximately 225 acres of property on Maple Lane in the Greenback area of Blount County and began operating Maple Lane Farms. The farm raised cattle, corn, vegetables, strawberries, and pumpkins.

Over the years, however, Mr. Schmidt began to offer public attractions on the farm to increase revenue. Between 2006 and 2008, these attractions accounted for approximately 75% of the total revenue of Maple Lane Farms. Each spring, Maple Lane Farms hosted a Strawberry Jam Festival that offered activities, including strawberry picking, face painting, rock climbing, inflatables, and other games. Each fall, the farm presented a multi-week festival with attractions that included a corn maze, a pick-your-own pumpkin patch, hayrides, antique shows, and pageants. At some point, Mr. Schmidt began hosting amplified music concerts during the spring and fall festivals.¹

In May 2003, Velda J. Shore, a retiree from Middle Tennessee, moved to the Mountain Meadows subdivision adjacent to Maple Lane Farms. Ms. Shore, who was in her mid-seventies, believed that Nashville had become too crowded and wanted to find a home “with a little piece of land where I could work it and get out and grow something.” Her one-half acre tract is on a bluff overlooking Maple Lane Farms, approximately 150 feet from the Maple Lane Farms boundary line. The back and side of her house are mostly windows that enable Ms. Shore to enjoy views of the mountains and the lake.

Before she purchased her property, Ms. Shore was informed that there was no commercial activity in the area. After she moved into her new home, Ms. Shore discovered that Maple Lane Farms operated a corn maze in the fall that was open to the public and that hayrides and a pick-your-own pumpkin patch were also available. She did not find these activities bothersome and, in fact, “enjoyed seeing the children and the tractor pulling the wagon around to get the pumpkins.”

According to Ms. Shore, the spring and fall activities at Maple Lane Farms expanded significantly between 2006 and 2008. Mr. Schmidt began offering all—terrain vehicle demonstrations and helicopter rides that provided the passengers with an opportunity to see the corn maze from the air. The helicopters flew directly over Ms. Shore's house. In addition, Mr. Schmidt began presenting fireworks displays at night and hosting a number of open-air concerts featuring amplified music. These concerts occurred during the day and at night.²

Ms. Shore became increasingly concerned about the noise from the concerts, as well as the congestion on the roads and the trash left by the persons who attended the events at Maple Lane Farms. She testified that she could hear the “boom, boom, boom, boom” of the music throughout her home. Ms. Shore also testified that she left her home during the daytime concerts to escape the noise. However, she could not escape the noise during the nighttime concerts because she could not drive at night. Ms. Shore testified that, because of the noise, she was forced to keep her windows and doors closed and remain inside during “the best time ... of the year to have your doors and windows open or to sit out on the deck or on the front porch.”

On October 8, 2007, Ms. Shore sent a letter to the Blount County Commission regarding the activities at Maple Lane Farms. At the time, Mr. Schmidt's fall festival was in full swing. Ms. Shore compared her circumstances to “living close to another ‘Dollywood,’ ” and described the loud music, the noise, and the helicopter flights. She wrote that she did not desire Maple Lane Farms to “close down their festivities.” Rather, she asked for “reasonable accommodation, where each may enjoy the land where they have put their life savings.”

As a result of Ms. Shore's letter, Roger Fields, the Blount County Building Commissioner, wrote Mr. Schmidt on November 1, 2007. Mr. Fields's letter informed Mr. Schmidt that his corn maze fell “under exemptions for agricultural uses.” However, the letter also directed Mr. Schmidt to cease offering helicopter rides and concerts “within the next thirty (30) days” and warned that “[f]ailure to comply will result in further legal action.” Mr. Fields also informed Mr. Schmidt of his right to appeal the decision to the Blount County Board of Zoning Appeals (“Board”).

On November 9, 2007, Mr. Schmidt appealed Mr. Fields's decision to the Board. However, before Mr. Schmidt's appeal could be heard, Mr. Fields apparently reconsidered his decision and informed Mr. Schmidt that he would be allowed to hold two events each year, as well as other “agricultural entertainment.” Ms. Shore was upset by what she considered a unilateral decision by Mr. Fields. On December 11, 2007, she appealed Mr. Fields's revised decision to the Board.³ At the Board's meeting on January 3, 2008, three of the five members decided that Mr. Schmidt's concerts were “not being supportive of agricultural use” and, therefore, that Mr. Schmidt would be permitted to hold only one concert per year at Maple Lane Farms.

Mr. Fields sent Mr. Schmidt formal notification of the Board's decision on January 8, 2008. Five days later, a local newspaper published a letter from Mr. Schmidt's father regarding the “circus” at the Board's meeting of January 3, 2008. His letter stated, in part, that “[w]hat we had at the recent Zoning Board meeting was a coalition of greed, jealousy and mental instability. The Zoning Board should have charged an amusement tax for this ‘chicken-picking’ contest. Some of the comments were laughable at best.” The letter ended with, “If my comments offend anyone I could care less.”

In early February 2008 a “for sale” sign mysteriously appeared in Ms. Shore's yard. In addition, unknown persons began banging on Ms. Shore's windows and doors and ringing her doorbell in the middle of the night. Other hand-made signs with slogans such as “Say a prayer and more for V.J. Shore” or “Rock Group Coming to a court house near you ... VJ and the Trouble Makers” began appearing in Ms. Shore's neighborhood. These actions upset Ms. Shore. On one occasion, she observed Mr. Schmidt laughing at her while she was attempting to remove one of the signs.

Mr. Schmidt did not seek judicial review of the Board's decision of January 3, 2008. Instead, in a letter dated February 7, 2008, Mr. Schmidt's lawyer informed the Board's chairman that his client “believe[s] that he is not bound by any decision that the [Board] has made due to his agricultural status.”

On the same day that Mr. Schmidt's lawyer informed the Board that his client intended to disregard its decision, Ms. Shore filed suit against Mr. Schmidt and others ⁴ in the Chancery Court for Blount County. In her complaint, Ms. Shore requested the trial court to declare that the “commercial and tourist activities” Mr. Schmidt was conducting at Maple Lane Farms were not agricultural uses of the property and, therefore, were subject to the county's zoning regulations. Ms. Shore also requested the trial court to prevent Mr. Schmidt from conducting commercial and tourist activities at Maple Lane Farms in violation of the zoning restrictions. She specifically requested that Mr. Schmidt be enjoined from holding the Strawberry Jam Festival scheduled for May 19 and 20, 2008. Ms. Shore also alleged that the activities occurring at Maple Lane Farms constituted a nuisance and requested the trial court to abate the nuisance.Ms. Shore later amended her complaint to allege that the concerts being held at Maple Lane Farms were “an on-going violation of the [Board's decision], and therefore a nuisance per se.”

The trial court denied Ms. Shore's request for a temporary injunction to prevent Mr. Schmidt from presenting the 2008 Strawberry Jam Festival. As reflected in his lawyer's...