Vegan Takes Neighbour To Court Over The Smell Of Barbecue
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A vegan woman has taken her neighbours to court because they keep barbecuing meat and fish and the smell keeps wafting over into her garden.
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This bizarre incident took place in - of course - Australia, where Cilla Carden has become so enraged with the folks next door to her house in Perth that she has taken legal action.
Carden reckons that her neighbours wilfully and knowingly allow smells from their barbecue to drift over into her garden in the suburb of Girraween, leaving her unable to use her own back garden.
She told Nine News: "They've put it there so I smell fish, all I can smell is fish... I can't go out there."
The legal battle between Carden - who works as a massage therapist - and neighbour Toan Vu, plus his wife and their children, began in late 2018.
Since then, her claims have been rejected in court for a lack of evidence, then rejected a second time in July by the Supreme Court of Western Australia.
To be fair, it's hard to prove that someone is maliciously barbecuing.
Lawyer John Hammond said that heading to the Supreme Court was still an option for Carden, albeit an 'extreme option', and added that it isn't yet off the table.
Carden went on to accuse her neighbours of being 'absolutely deliberate' in allowing the smells to enter her garden.
It isn't just barbecued food, by the way. She has also complained about the smell of cigarettes and the sound of kids playing with basketballs.
She continued: "It's been devastating, it's been turmoil, it's been unrest, I haven't been able to sleep."
Meanwhile, Vu has said that he only wants to 'keep the peace' and has removed the grill from the back yard. He's also stopped his kids playing basketball in the garden.
Carden has also complained about the neighbours to the other side of her property as well. We're not sure exactly what those allegations are, but the anonymous neighbour told Nine News: "Ms Carden's demands were proven to be not reasonable and indeed were to the detriment of the other owners' ability to enjoy their lots in a reasonable and acceptable manner."
This is far from over, too.
Carden has vowed to continue the fight in the courtroom against Vu and his family.
Hammond went on to say that the first step in reconciling these types of disputes is to have a face-to-face discussion about it. He said: "If you don't do it like that, you're going to be up for a world of misery."
Carden added that she only wants to get on with her life in peace.
