New Neighbor Keeps Suing Family For Having A Basketball Hoop In Front Of Their House
Must be nice to have this kind of time and money.
Geber86 | Shutterstock The old saying "fences make good neighbors" may seem like something an unfriendly crank would say, but every now and then, a story comes out that underlines the true meaning of the phrase. It's often the jerks on the other SIDE of the fence who necessitate it. Case in point, a Minnesota family who have wound up in court over something astonishingly petty — the placement of their driveway basketball hoop.
A family's new neighbors keep suing them over their basketball hoop.
The Moeding family has lived in their house in the Minneapolis suburb of St. Louis Park for 11 years, and all has been well until a year ago when they got new neighbors. After moving in, the new neighbors made a fuss about the fact that the Moeding's basketball hoop was six inches over the property line.
Most of us probably would have said "get over it," but the Moeding family quickly complied, moving the hoop and going through the necessary local legal requirements to do so. Problem solved, right? Wrong.
The neighbors filed a restraining order, and when it was dismissed, they sued.
After the six-inch problem was rectified, the new neighbors still weren't satisfied, complaining at a local city council meeting. "It's immediately in front of my door. I cannot walk out of my door," the neighbor said. "I park outside my door, and I'm face to face with them, and balls are flying directly at me," which is a frankly hilarious pull-quote and it is my journalistic duty as a person old enough to know "Clueless" by heart to add, "well there goes your social life."
Anyway, news footage of the properties very clearly shows the neighbor's door is in no way blocked. But they're nonetheless so incensed by the Moeding boys occasionally stepping onto their property to retrieve their basketball that they filed a restraining order against the whole family, which was dismissed with prejudice shortly thereafter likely because this entire thing is ridiculous and if you are this averse to people stepping onto your property you have no business living anywhere besides the country.
marcelo rangel | Unsplash
In any case, stymied by common sense, the new neighbors then filed suit against not just the Moedings but the city of St. Louis Park, claiming that the basketball hoop is actually a "sports court," like a basketball court you'd find in a park, and hence was not up to city codes. It must be nice to have the kind of time, money, and audacity to waste raising this kind of absurd stink.
The Moedings' local community raised tons of money for their legal defense.
Simply filing the frivolous lawsuit wasn't enough to satisfy the new neighbors, so they went and filed a SECOND one for good measure, this one demanding that the Moedings not be allowed to use their basketball hoop until the case is settled.
"I feel like I'm walking on eggshells on my own property," Lilly Moeding told local CBS affiliate WCCO. Even worse, the Moedings cannot afford all this legal hassle like their neighbors apparently can, which would have made many people just relent to their neighbors' bullying. Not the Moedings.
"I really wanted to teach our children that when there's an injustice, you stand up to it," she told WCCO. Moeding posted a fundraiser for her family's legal defense, and if the neighbors thought anyone in the community was on their side, it seems they're mistaken: The fundraiser quickly blew way past its goal. They've donated the overage to 612 Promise, a local nonprofit that works to provide access to sports facilities and programs to local youth.
"We appreciate the support, but don't want our neighbors to feel shamed or embarrassed. That wasn't the goal of this," Moeding told WCCO. "We really want to be respectful of our neighbors…[and]...just want them to stop taking legal action against us."
As a person with multiple Scorpio placements, I DO want their neighbors to feel both shamed and embarrassed, but instead I'll take a page out of Mrs. Moeding's book and simply say: It requires absolutely no effort to be a decent person, and there are miles upon miles of open land in America you can go live in if you truly can't bear to do so. Minnesota's countryside is supposed to be beautiful this time of year.
John Sundholm is a writer, editor, and video personality with 20 years of experience in media and entertainment. He covers culture, mental health, and human interest topics.
