Texas Parents Sued Over Noisy Kids

On one side of the fence you have the cacophony of playing children. On the other: profanity-laced rap music at high volume. That combination has yielded neighbor vs. neighbor lawsuits in the Stoney Hollow neighborhood of Plano, Texas. It all started with the placement of a playhouse with an attached swingset in the side yard of Kelly and Andrew Counts' home, CBS DFW reports. In fact, one of the reasons the family chose the home in 2014 was that it had a concrete patio ideal for such a structure, Kelly Counts tells the Dallas Morning News. Next-door neighbors Irving and Anita Ward, who have declined to comment on the situation, disagreed. The Wards complained to the neighborhood homeowners association that the structure detracted from their "tranquil quality of life" and produced "noise issues as well as visibility issues for them and their pets," per HOA minutes obtained by CBS.

The city also fielded a complaint regarding the location of the structure in relation to the property line; the family removed part of the playhouse roof to appease the city, and the HOA signed off on the structure. That's when, according to the Counts, the Wards began blasting the music when her four kids, ages 2 to 10, played outside. "I don't feel comfortable in my own backyard," she tells CBS. Counts says the Wards wouldn't have a conversation about the issue, so she and her husband filed a civil suit in October, FOX 4 reports. The music stopped—and then the Wards in December sued the Countses, "alleging loud and obnoxious noise," per the Morning News, and claiming they and their property have been damaged; they want the structure taken down. The parties will be in court this month and next. (This woman, bothered by noisy neighborhood kids, allegedly made a darker move.)