Spur Industries, Inc. v. Del E. Webb Development Co.
Citation
108 Ariz. 178 (Ariz. 1972). Supreme Court of Arizona.
Facts
Spur Industries operated a large cattle feedlot in a rural area west of Phoenix. Del E. Webb Development Company subsequently built Sun City, a planned retirement community, on land it purchased near the feedlot. As Sun City expanded toward the feedlot, homeowners complained of flies, odors, and other conditions from the feedlot’s operations. Del Webb sued to enjoin Spur’s operations as a public and private nuisance.
Issue
(1) Was the feedlot a nuisance? (2) If so, was Del Webb entitled to an injunction, given that it “came to the nuisance” by building the retirement community near the pre-existing feedlot?
Holding
The court held the feedlot was a public nuisance and granted the injunction. However, it also held that because Del Webb had brought people to the nuisance by selling homes near the feedlot, Del Webb must indemnify Spur for the reasonable costs of moving or shutting down.
Rule / Doctrine
Coming to the nuisance is not an absolute defense, but it is a relevant factor in fashioning equitable relief. A court may grant an injunction against a pre-existing lawful activity that has become a nuisance due to changed surroundings, while requiring the plaintiff who created the problem (by developing the area) to bear some financial responsibility for the resulting harm to the defendant. Courts have broad equitable discretion to fashion nuisance remedies that balance the rights of all parties.
Significance
Spur Industries is a canonical nuisance case illustrating the coming-to-the-nuisance doctrine, the limits of injunctive relief in nuisance law, and the use of conditional injunctions to allocate costs equitably between developers and pre-existing landowners.