In a per curiam decision, the appeals court affirmed an order granting summary judgment in favor of the Town of Vinland and requiring Loren’s Auto to abate a public nuisance. The appellant, Loren’s Auto, failed to abide by the terms of a conditional use permit (CUP) to operate its auto salvage business, and the Town of Vinland revoked the CUP, notified Loren’s Auto that the salvaged autos were a public nuisance, and required Loren to abate the nuisance by ceasing operations and removing the salvage items from the property. The Town prevailed on summary judgment and Loren’s Auto appealed.
According to the decision, the tort of public nuisance involves three elements: the existence of the nuisance, notice of the nuisance, and causation (that is, that the nuisance caused harm). The circuit court held that the nuisance existed because the relevant Town ordinance expressly declared junked vehicles to be a public health nuisance. There was no need for the Town to separately prove that the presence of junked vehicles interfered with the public or harmed the environment. The Town satisfied the notice requirement when it sent notice of the violation to Loren’s Auto before commencing the underlying lawsuit. The Town satisfied the causation element because, though Loren’s Auto ceased to operate the salvage yard, it continued to store junked vehicles on its property and therefore by definition it caused harm to the health of those who live in the Town.
(See, Town of Vinland v. Loren’s Auto Recycling, LLC and Lorenz Rangeloff)