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REPORTED IN THE COURT OF SPECIAL APPEALS OF MARYLAND No. 490 September Term, 2003 _______________________________

WILLIAM BRUCE ECHARD

V.

RICHARD KRAFT, ET AL.

_______________________________ Hollander, Salmon, Thieme, Raymond G., Jr. (Ret., Specially Assigned), JJ. _______________________________ Opinion by Salmon, J. Filed: October 1, 2004

In "Mending Wall," Robert Frost quotes his neighbor as having said, "Good fences make good neighbors." Frost, however, knew that this was not always true, viz: If I could put a notion in his head: "Why do they make good neighbors? Isn't it Where there are cows? But here there are no cows. Before I'd build a wall I'd ask to know What I was walling in or walling out, And to whom I was like to give offense." The case that gives rise to this appeal had its origin when one neighbor built a fence, which, to put it mildly, caused great offense. The fence was so offensive to appellant, William Echard

("Echard"), that it led him to engage in acts of rude behavior toward his neighbors, Richard and Karen Kraft, appellees. Echard's behavior led the Krafts to file a common law nuisance claim against him. The sole issue to be decided in this appeal is whether unneighborly acts, either taken individually or

Echard's

collectively, constituted a common law nuisance under Maryland law. We shall hold that they did not.

I.

BACKGROUND FACTS

Mary Katherine Echard, Echard's mother, owns a house situated on a small parcel of land located at 70 Southgate Avenue in Annapolis. many years. Mrs. Echard and her son have lived at that location for And, at all times here relevant, the appellees,

Richard and Karen Kraft, lived next door. Both Mrs. Echard's lot and the Krafts' lot are forty feet wide. The two houses are fifteen to twenty feet apart. Despite

the close proximity of their homes, Echard and the Krafts enjoyed an amicable relationship up until March 2001, when Echard and his mother learned that the Krafts were going to build a fence along their common property line. The Krafts' proposed fence greatly

angered Mrs. Echard and her son because both believed that the fence would driveway. Mrs. Echard took legal action on March 5, 2001, in an attempt to have the city revoke the Krafts' fence permit. That action was interfere with Mrs. Echard's ability to use her

unsuccessful, and the fence was built that same spring. On February 26, 2002, Echard sued the Krafts in the Circuit Court for Anne Arundel County. He alleged that the Krafts had

defamed him when they made statements to the Annapolis police concerning his words and actions after he learned where the fence was to be built. The Krafts filed a counterclaim against Echard,

in which they alleged, inter alia, that Echard had interfered with the peaceful possession of their property. The matter was tried before a jury. At the conclusion of the

entire case, Echard, pro se, made a motion for judgment on the nuisance count. He maintained that the Krafts had failed to prove The trial judge denied Echard's verdict against Echard on his

that he had created a nuisance. motion. The jury returned a

defamation claim and found in favor of the Krafts on their nuisance claim. The jury awarded the Krafts $25,000 in damages. Echard

filed an unsuccessful motion for new trial and then a timely appeal to this court. 2

II. To decide the issue of whether the Krafts presented sufficient evidence to allow the jury to consider the common law nuisance claim, we shall focus, as the parties have done, on six separate incidents in which Echard's conduct was either rude or annoying, or both. The evidence will be set forth in the light most favorable

to the Krafts, the parties who successfully opposed Echard's motion for judgment. Md. Rule 2-519(b). See also Pahanish v. Western

Truck, Inc., 69 Md. App. 342, 353 (1986). A. The March 5, 2001, Incident

Echard found out on March 5, 2001, where the Krafts planned to build their fence. He was infuriated and immediately phoned

Richard Kraft and asked him to come to his house so that they could discuss the issue. Mr. Kraft accommodated Echard by paying a At one point, Echard inquired of He also

visit. The visit was unpleasant.

his guest, "What kind of an asshole would do this?" insulted Mr. Kraft by calling him an "MF."

Then, as Mr. Kraft was He The

leaving, Echard warned: "You'd better not build that fence." then said, "Or, better yet, go ahead [and build the fence]. more damages, the better." B. Echard's Springtime Trespass

The Krafts built their fence on the common property line between the Kraft and the Echard premises sometime during the spring of 2001. One day, when the fence was under construction

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Maryland Law