Photo credit: TheVillagesFL licensed under CC BY-SA 4.0
by Daniel Fink, MD, Chair, The Quiet Coalition
“Does pickleball noise constitute an ‘auditory assault’? These Boise homeowners say yes.” That’s the headline of an article in the Idaho Statesman that covers a tort claim filed by two Boise residents. One of them is Kathleen Romito, a retired family physician who is also a member of Quiet Communities’ Scientific Advisory Council. She and I just had a letter published about pickleball noise in the American Journal of Otolaryngology.
In the letter, we note the impulsive nature of pickleball noise and discuss the fact that four pickleball courts can be placed in the area usually occupied by one tennis court. Pickleball is played by four players, which means up to 900 annoying “pickleball pops” per court, per hour. Romito will present a paper in May at this year’s Acoustical Society of America meeting in New Orleans that discusses the adverse health consequences of pickleball noise.
In the meantime, Romito and her husband filed a tort lawsuit against Boise. The Willow Lane pickleball courts are only 57 feet away from their home, far closer than the minimum distance of 200 feet recommended by Carl Schmits, an official at USA Pickleball.
The tort claim asks for $1.6 million in damages for the loss of value of their home, their loss of enjoyment of their property and for psychological damages from the noise. The Statesman reports that under Idaho law, government agencies have the opportunity to address a complaint before a lawsuit is filed. The city now has 90 days to remedy the situation and if they don’t, a lawsuit is filed.
We will follow this case closely.
