Father Receives Cease And Desist From Neighbor Working Remotely, Gets Police Called On Him Over Noise Complaints
SHERMAN OAKS (CBSLA) -- A Sherman Oaks father says he received a cease and desist demand over noise coming from his apartment.
"Nick" admits he has a noisy second-floor apartment with his 2-year-old son running around and not many alternative locations to turn to during the pandemic, but he said the involvement of law enforcement completely blindsided him.
One of the things he said he has done to help reduce the noise is getting extra padding on the floor, but the neighbor said the noise still remains excessive.
His neighbor, who owns the condo below Nick, said the noise coming from his unit "has been causing us to wake up and jump out of bed in a panic, among other distress."
CBS2 spoke with the neighbor who filed the complaint, but he did not want to be identified.
The man said the following in a phone interview:
"It's unreasonable noise coming down and I put him on notice through it several times through emails. It is rumbling. My chandelier shakes. It's really excessive and really disturbing."
The neighbor, who works from home as an attorney, said he understands the challenges of having a child at home but that some of the noise is coming from an adult.
Nick, a stand-up comedian, says he is unemployed at the moment and is weighing the options of sending his son to preschool during the pandemic or getting sued by his neighbor.
"I'm faced with this dilemma of like do I get sued and have to go to court and pay all these fees and go in debt or do I send my son to school during COVID when all the other kids in LA are pretty much in the comfort of their own home?" he said.
At one point last month, Nick says the neighbor called police to report excessive noise.
"I look through the peephole and I have two L.A. cops standing outside the door," Nick said. "So much stuff going on on in L.A. right now, why are we here doing a noise disturbance call -- at 8 pm granted?
The neighbor said he involved police because he was "left with no choice" and "didn't know how else to stop it."
Nick said he's used to hearing noise from the community and neighbors but is okay with it.
"He makes noise all the time and I'm fine with that just like the gardener comes at 7 in the morning. I don't care, that's life, you know?" he said.
The neighbor has pointed out Nick's stand-up comedy videos on YouTube that could create noise, but Nick argues that he's being careful not to disturb neighbors.
"We are doing the best we can up here, man, and you just they keep coming after us," he said.
No other action has been taken by the neighbor, who also listed the landlord in the cease and desist notice.
Nick has also secured an attorney.
