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Dog ate my Neighbor's Drone - Am I liable? (IL) (self.legaladvice)

DeadDrone999 が 投稿

Not sure what to do. Earlier today my neighbor came pounding on my door screaming obscenities and shouting at me. When I finally got him to stop yelling I found out that he was flying his drone in my backyard again and this time my dog finally managed to catch it and destroy it. He claims this was a $900 drone and I had to pay him right then and there. I refused and closed the door in his face. A couple hours later police showed up to retrieve the drone; it was still in my yard, but my dog completely ignored it once it stopped buzzing; and ask about the situation. The said neighbor called them stating that I refused him access to my yard to get it. That's not true, he never asked.

I'm worried the neighbor will try to press charges against me for destruction of property or sue me. Will he have any legal standing if this does go to court?

He has a history of flying his drone low over my yard to tease my dog. I have asked him to stop several times, which he always refuses telling me that I don't own the air above my yard. I have called the police to complain once before, he was doing "fly bys" over my dog and getting very close to hitting him. The police didn't say he couldn't fly it in my yard but did ask him to stop doing so in order to avoid conflict. That only seemed to egg him on.

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[–]techiesgoboom 119 ポイント120 ポイント  (1子コメント)

I wouldn't worry. The standard and best advice is to ignore him until and unless you get served. If that happens you will need to show up, but your case seems pretty cut and dry. If you want to be prep in advance you can always reach out to the police to see if they have record of your previous complaints.

[–]colin_staples 70 ポイント71 ポイント  (0子コメント)

The fact that you had previously spoken to the police, and they had told him to stop, would surely count in your favour.

Gather your evidence now so that you are prepared if you do get served.

[–]Toyland_in_Babes 192 ポイント193 ポイント  (3子コメント)

Not sure if it's a next door neighbor but be careful he doesn't try to poison your dog. You might want to invest in security cameras and supervise the dog outside so it doesn't eat anything tossed over you fence.

[–]DhakaWolf 109 ポイント110 ポイント  (1子コメント)

This. If this guy was dumb enough to fly a drone that low to the ground and then get pissed when the inevitable happened, i'm betting he's dumb enough to try and be vindictive and try to get back at you/your dog.

[–]Cow16ii 9 ポイント10 ポイント  (0子コメント)

Better safe than sorry.

[–]4matting 4 ポイント5 ポイント  (0子コメント)

I would make a small enclosure for my dog to go potty, right by the door. Only let the dog have full access to the yard when you're out there as well, to ensure there's nothing to worry about.

Better to put in the extra effort, than to lose your little buddy.

[–]nikapo 246 ポイント247 ポイント  (22子コメント)

I'm more concerned about your dog. It's possible he swallowed something that could hurt him. Watch him carefully but honestly to be sure I'd take him to the vet. If he swallowed something sharp or too big that could be deadly. If your dog was actually injured because of this moron you can sue him for the vet bills.

Your neighbor is an idiot and he's blowing smoke. Ignore him unless he actually does sue you.

[–]DeadDrone999[S] 88 ポイント89 ポイント  (19子コメント)

Thank you. It didn't even occur to me he might have gotten a piece off. Will head to the vet when they open in an hour.

[–]Lime_Time 121 ポイント122 ポイント  (0子コメント)

And keep the vet receipt in case the guy sues, so you can have counter suit for your dog's medical bills!

[–]techiesgoboom 34 ポイント35 ポイント  (15子コメント)

I'd call before heading in. Unless you're getting X-rays there is likely little to be done. I had a similar issue where mine actually refused food and they advised simply to withhold all food and water for 12 hours then to follow with race and plain chicken for a few days, about as long as she continue eating there wouldn't be an issue.

So yeah, don't worry too much, and listen to your vets advice obviously. But a call will get an answer quicker and might save you an unneeded trip.

[–]Lehk 14 ポイント15 ポイント  (14子コメント)

X-rays is exactly what doggo needs, to check if any dangerous bits are in his gut.

[–]techiesgoboom 9 ポイント10 ポイント  (0子コメント)

Depends what the vet says. Like I said, my vet recommended not having them done until the symptoms suggested it was a good idea.

[–]BeenCarl 2 ポイント3 ポイント  (12子コメント)

It will only see metal bits though. IIRC drones are ~76.3% plastic.

[–]Lehk 10 ポイント11 ポイント  (1子コメント)

X-rays can see plastic, there are tons of pics on their Internet of plastic toys stuck in the other end of the GI tract.

[–]random_side_note 7 ポイント8 ポイント  (0子コメント)

If rotten.com can be trusted, you can also see potatoes and jelly jars on x-rays.

[–]RedundantMaleMan 16 ポイント17 ポイント  (4子コメント)

But bones aren't metal and x rays see them?

[–]UpsetChemist 16 ポイント17 ポイント  (1子コメント)

It has to do with how good a material is at absorbing xrays. The calcium (a metal) in bones is a good absorber. Plastic is mostly carbon and hydrogen which are both bad at absorbing xrays.

[–]Hippo-Crates 1 ポイント2 ポイント  (0子コメント)

But you can still see plastic in x-rays, but not as well as things that absorb x-rays easily obviously.

[–]Wampawacka 5 ポイント6 ポイント  (0子コメント)

Calcium is a metal.

[–]internet_observer 0 ポイント1 ポイント  (0子コメント)

Bones are indeed largely metal

[–]Jaylaw1 3 ポイント4 ポイント  (0子コメント)

No, x-rays can "see" many things other than metal.

[–]BlatantConservative -1 ポイント0 ポイント  (3子コメント)

...bone isnt metal...

[–]amish24 6 ポイント7 ポイント  (1子コメント)

It contains metal though (calcium)

[–]BlatantConservative 0 ポイント1 ポイント  (0子コメント)

Yknow, Ive never made that connection beforr but thats true

[–]ChaserHawkeye 0 ポイント1 ポイント  (0子コメント)

Bone is majorly calcium, which is in fact a metal.

[–]tangofortwo 2 ポイント3 ポイント  (1子コメント)

Yeah, If the drone stopped working there is certainly a chance that the dog ate one of its electric parts.

[–]SlamsaStark 6 ポイント7 ポイント  (0子コメント)

Not necessarily. My dog recently "ate" one of my xbox controllers. Really she just chewed the shit out of it and spread the pieces around. It definitely doesn't work, but she also doesn't appear to have eaten anything. Drone could just be chewed beyond function.

[–]SoretoothinIpswich 42 ポイント43 ポイント  (0子コメント)

I'd like to second the going to the vet but. There's a lot of bits of sharp plastic and little electronics your dog could have swallowed.

Personally I wouldn't automatically go after him for the vet bill, just because I like to avoid provoking morons as much as possible (in the real world anyway) - but I would definitely keep it in reserve in case this guy actually does try to get you to pay for his stupid drone.

[–]PacoRamirez1966 0 ポイント1 ポイント  (0子コメント)

Most dogs don't swallow shit they just rip it up.

[–]xkrysis 52 ポイント53 ポイント  (0子コメント)

If you don't have it already, it might be worth requesting a copy of the old police report to keep on hand. Being able to show you have already asked him to stop and that he made a habit of teasing your dog with his drone may be helpful if you are actually sued or if he somehow tries to involve anyone else like police/parents/etc.

[–]Strawsonian 21 ポイント22 ポイント  (0子コメント)

The words that would have immediately come out of my mouth:

"So, wait, why were flying your drone so low in my backyard that my dog could grab it?"

[–]spitlets 19 ポイント20 ポイント  (3子コメント)

Would it be okay to make a copy of the drone footage before giving back the pieces? It might have a good recording of the neighbor antagonizing the dog.

[–]Exaskryz 10 ポイント11 ポイント  (2子コメント)

Good question. Would it be stealing/piracy to make a copy of any video recoverable?

[–]SantasDead 66 ポイント67 ポイント  (16子コメント)

INNAL, but I thought the FAA required all drones to be registered and your property extends to 500' above your physical land.

I'd tell my neighbor to pound sand and if he cared so much about his "drone" it wouldn't trespass on others properties where there are dogs whom are protective over their property and dislike intruders.

[–]SouthForkHerons 23 ポイント24 ポイント  (15子コメント)

I have no idea what INNAL means, and google failed me. But, I'll say this; the 500' thing isn't that clear cut. There are 300' and 500' rules for navigable airspace for traditional aircraft. But those are regulations set by FAA in the US and for all practical purposes could be changed at any time. According to that same article, landowner rights extend 365' above your house. Now, who enforces that law? I'm not sure about that.

[–]Lime_Time 24 ポイント25 ポイント  (4子コメント)

He meant IANAL - I am not a lawyer.

[–]_Rogue_ 13 ポイント14 ポイント  (2子コメント)

To the unbeknownst, IANAL could mean something else entirely.

[–]Lehk 16 ポイント17 ポイント  (1子コメント)

It's an acronym as old as the Internet. The Buttsex jokes that go with it are as well. (Also, my autocorrect apparently capitalizes 'Buttsex', and I checked my phones personal dictionary to make sure it wasn't in there)

[–]BlatantConservative 6 ポイント7 ポイント  (0子コメント)

Gotta give it the respect it deserves

[–]SouthForkHerons 1 ポイント2 ポイント  (0子コメント)

Thanks. I am older than the Internet and a lot of these things go over my head. I didn't think about a spelling error. That explains why Google didn't help much.

[–]DatOpenSauce 24 ポイント25 ポイント  (0子コメント)

According to that same article, landowner rights extend 365' above your house. Now, who enforces that law? I'm not sure about that.

DOGGO

[–]RabidDiabeetus 11 ポイント12 ポイント  (1子コメント)

IANAL, just looked into laws regarding it when I was thinking about getting a drone. The laws are very murky and can vary greatly from one place to another. The FAA essentially owns all airspace. More often these drones only get in trouble on invasion of privacy and not trespassing. Most pro-drone communities will tell you that you can fly nearly anywhere besides within 5 (maybe 10?) miles of an airport. However on drones with cameras (a $900 drone would almost be guaranteed to have a camera) still need to avoid intruding into places where there is a reasonable expectation of privacy.

 

That being said I don't think there is a courtroom in existence that would rule in favor of the drone owner in this case. Is the yard in question fenced off? How large of a space is it?

[–]the_24601 20 ポイント21 ポイント  (0子コメント)

To add to this, FAA's policy seems kind of to be "don't be a dick." It may not be clearly illegal for him to fly over your property, but he's some sort of nuisance if he was low enough for your dog to down his drone.

Also, any drone that costs $900 is likely going to require registration (if it's between 0.55 and 55 lbs, actually). If his drone isn't registered, there is a potential for fines, etc.

Source: I also fly drones

[–]MjrMjr 24 ポイント25 ポイント  (1子コメント)

Hold on. Are you suggesting the dog could have jumped 301 ft or 366 ft in the air to retrieve the drone?

Did they make a movie about this?

https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Air_Bud

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Non-Mobile link: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Air_Bud

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[–]SantasDead 2 ポイント3 ポイント  (0子コメント)

Half asleep, sorry man. I was meaning "I am not a lawyer" IANAL

[–]AtomicPunk 0 ポイント1 ポイント  (0子コメント)

300 or 500 this wasn't in the gray area. Low enough for a dog to get it is at least few hundred feet too low. The neighbor has no claim.

[–]anonymity_is_cancer 0 ポイント1 ポイント  (0子コメント)

I would say the height requirements are moot since he landed/crashed in the yard. Once it hit the dirt he became his problem.

[–]DrakynWyrm -2 ポイント-1 ポイント  (1子コメント)

INAL is "I am Not A Lawyer" :) They just added an extra N, unless I am mistaken.

[–]scifiwoman 47 ポイント48 ポイント  (0子コメント)

Good doggy. I hope he's okay (not swallowed anything) and I think he's earned a steak for services to humanity.

[–]ophbalance 8 ポイント9 ポイント  (0子コメント)

Aw, stupid person did stupid things and is now having to pay stupid consequences. As others have said don't interact with the stupid and wait to be served. Then ask if you can potentially film the stupid when the judge confirms that the drone was on your property and was attacked by a dog secured on your property. The stupid will surely lose.

[–]Bob_Sconce 9 ポイント10 ポイント  (0子コメント)

In answer to your question, right now you just ignore him.

There's nothing criminal here. You did not intentionally destroy his drone. So, even if he were to complain to the police, they are not very likely to press charges.

And that leaves a civil suit. It is possible that he may sue you. If he does, it would almost certainly be in small claims court. And, if he does, be sure to show up. Best to bring a copy of whatever police records there are from the time you complained about him doing this.

He has an exceedingly small chance of winning that case, though. You have no duty to keep your dog from jumping after drones flying just above his height in your yard. But, your neighbor has a duty to avoid interfering with the reasonable use of your property.

[–]anon_e_mous9669 22 ポイント23 ポイント  (2子コメント)

Hahaha, I'm pretty sure this numbnuts neighbor can't have it both ways. Sure, you don't own the air above your yard, but he essentially is attacking your dog on your dog's home turf and he obviously flew low enough the dog could attack it (which your neighbor has been goading him to do repeatedly). Unless you're sued, I would certainly respond to your neighbor with something along the lines of "Well, I've asked you several times to stop flying your drone in this manner so we could avoid this exact scenario. And since this happened over my property, there's not a damn thing I'm going to do to help you out here. . . "

[–][削除されました]  (1子コメント)

[removed]

    [–]thepatmanQuality Contributor[M] 0 ポイント1 ポイント  (0子コメント)

    Your post has been removed for the following reason(s):

    Bad Advice

    • This post is being removed because it is, frankly speaking, bad legal advice. Either it is inapplicable for the jurisdiction in which OP resides, or misunderstands the fundamentals of the applicable legal issues.

    If you feel this was in error, message the moderators.

    [–]BlatantConservative 10 ポイント11 ポイント  (5子コメント)

    I bet he didnt register it with the FAA. Report him to them. You've got the rare case where he admits the drone was his, it was flying in a harassing manner, and you can back that all up with a paper trail.

    This raises an interesting legal question. This isnt advice as I honestly dont know the answer.

    Drones can hurt and even kill people. We've already seen people prosecuted for drone crashes in the US, and the fast drones can go a good 200-300 MPH, which would be lethal if it hit anyone.

    Some states allow you to use force to protect your property/pets. So in those states, would it be legal to shoot the drone down if its harassing your dog?

    [–]Wampawacka 4 ポイント5 ポイント  (4子コメント)

    Shooting down an aircraft is a felony. Do not do it. The laws around drones are a bit murky currently but the laws on shooting one are very clear.

    [–]Tigerjunky 0 ポイント1 ポイント  (0子コメント)

    Don't tell my stepfather. Shot one down earlier this year over our farm for swooping over my mom and his grand daughter.... hell of a shot to be honest.

    [–]BlatantConservative -1 ポイント0 ポイント  (2子コメント)

    So what if someone was purposefully trying to hit me with a drone?

    I know that, usually, shooting a car is bad but there are states whhere if you try and run someone over with a car its assault with a deadly weapon and its legal to shoot at them.

    [–]Wampawacka 3 ポイント4 ポイント  (1子コメント)

    Run away. Or risk felony conviction. No matter how much of a self defense fantasy you have, shooting a drone is going to end you up in a really big legal fight and will cost you quite a bit just in legal costs. Even then, you still might get a felony conviction because you did break the law and shot down an aircraft. The FAA treats drones almost the same as small aircraft currently. Think about shooting a plane and imagine the consequences.

    [–]addlepated -1 ポイント0 ポイント  (0子コメント)

    So question - if I'm hunting in the middle of the wilderness with nothing around for 20 miles - say, Alaska - and a crazy person with a cropduster plane comes along and flies low and the pilot starts taking pot shots at me, and there is no cover but I do have a gun because I was out hunting, can I not shoot back?

    Basically, if I were North by Northwest's Cary Grant and could safely shoot, would I be able to legally defend myself?

    [–]Imadethis4things 3 ポイント4 ポイント  (0子コメント)

    Your neighbor cannot "press charges". He can sue you, though I highly doubt he will. He screwed up and he knows it. Were it me? I would have a couple of cameras with low-light capability and some motion detecting lights installed right now, today, and my dog would not be let out without a pre-release walkaround by me. I would also not leave my hound unattended.

    As well, just like you couldn't restrict the airspace over your yard? He has no say about how many cameras you put up or where they are directed.

    Here's an article about drone "no-fly" zones.

    https://techcrunch.com/2015/02/09/noflyzone-lets-you-establish-a-no-fly-zone-over-your-property/

    [–]livininparadise 0 ポイント1 ポイント  (0子コメント)

    Actually, subject to a variety of governmental regulation, you do own "the air above" your yard. Do a little research on ground, surface and air rights. You may be surprised.

    [–]DrWho1970 1 ポイント2 ポイント  (0子コメント)

    If his drone cost several hundred dollars it is large enough to be registered. Contact the FAA as they have official jurisdiction over drones now. If he has not registered the FAA can cite him and issue a fine. If he has registered they can still cite him for flying his drone over your private space and for being a general dickwad.

    He has a history of flying his drone low over my yard to tease my dog. I have asked him to stop several times, which he always refuses telling me that I don't own the air above my yard. I have called the police to complain once before, he was doing "fly bys" over my dog and getting very close to hitting him.

    [–]shakela87 0 ポイント1 ポイント  (0子コメント)

    Document every single time you notice him flying his drone on your property. Document the conversation s you've had asking him to stop. Then if he does pull small claims court you have your side nice and organized for the judge.

    [–][削除されました]  (5子コメント)

    [removed]

      [–]Lime_Time 3 ポイント4 ポイント  (3子コメント)

      That's not how that works. You cannot just destroy someone else's property because it's on your property.

      [–]TheBames -1 ポイント0 ポイント  (2子コメント)

      Even if it is filming a taking pictures over his property

      [–]Lime_Time 2 ポイント3 ポイント  (0子コメント)

      If someone is taking a picture of your property, you don't get to go up and smash their camera. Same concept.

      [–]virak_john 1 ポイント2 ポイント  (0子コメント)

      Yes. Even if it is "filming a taking pictures over his property."

      [–]thepatmanQuality Contributor[M] 0 ポイント1 ポイント  (0子コメント)

      Your post has been removed for the following reason(s):

      Bad Advice

      • This post is being removed because it is, frankly speaking, bad legal advice. Either it is inapplicable for the jurisdiction in which OP resides, or misunderstands the fundamentals of the applicable legal issues.

      If you feel this was in error, message the moderators.