The Court of Cassation: if the dog barks at night, the neighbors must be compensated. According to the judges, "the lack of night rest can cause damage to health".
If the neighbor's dog barks at night, preventing the neighbors from sleeping, the owner of the animal could be forced to pay a substantial compensation. This is what the Court of Cassation establishes, confirming the sentence of the Court of Appeal of Caltanissetta in the case of two dogs left to bark every night on the terrace of an apartment inside a condominium.
The case – As reported by Il Messaggero, in the case of Caltanissetta one of the neighbors could no longer give up sleep because of the barking and whining of the two dogs. So he sued his neighbor, claiming that the lack of rest had caused damage to his health. The complaint speaks of “deep howls, as well as continuous and annoying whines, especially during the night and rest hours”.
The effects of lack of rest on work – The person who filed the lawsuit also reported that he had suffered personal and professional consequences: he was fired because he was no longer able to concentrate and perform his duties to the best of his ability. The “victim” claimed that he had lost his job due to too many sick leave. The illness was caused precisely by the stress of not getting enough rest. A point on which the dog owners responded, stressing that “it is not possible to prove that the man was fired” for that specific reason.
What the law says – Comparing other rulings of the Court of Cassation on the subject, it emerges that one of the fundamental factors in order to obtain compensation is that “the annoyance” caused by the neighbor’s barking dog “exceeds normal tolerability”. The law establishes that “anyone who, by means of shouting or noise, or by abusing sound instruments or acoustic signals, or by causing or not preventing animal noises, disturbs the occupations or rest of people, or shows, gatherings or public entertainment, is punished with arrest of up to 3 months, or with a fine of up to 309 euros. A fine of 103 to 516 euros is applied to anyone who practices a noisy profession or trade against the provisions of the law or the prescriptions of the Authority”. In this case, in addition to compensation, the owners of the two dogs will also have to pay the legal costs, that is, another 2.700 euros.
Article published on 23 August 2022 - 12:08
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