202 Ky. 256 | Ky. Ct. App. | 1924
Opinion of the Court by
Reversing.
W. M. Sexton and wife brought this suit to enjoin Henry Youngkau from continuing to conduct his slaughterhouse and stock pen in such manner as to create obnoxious and offensive odors to the annoyance and discomfort of plaintiffs in the enjoyment of their property. The chancellor denied the relief prayed for and plaintiffs have appealed.
The Sextons are joint owners of a house and lot located in the city of Ashland at the northeast comer of
According to Mrs. Sexton, the condition was very bad. Youngkau kept hogs in the stock pen as long ¿s eight or ten days at a time, and then put in more without cleaning out the pen. At times the manure and filth were four or five inches deep. The odors were so bad that they could not raise their windows even in hot weather, and she and others were made sick at the stomach. J. T. Hunt, a former policeman, deposed that he was frequently in the Sexton residence, that the stench from the pen was so bad that he “could almost taste it,” and that the odor from rendering tallow was almost unbearable. While he was policeman, he examined the hog pen and the filth was four or five inches deep and had been there for a long time. He could smell the odor in his sleeping room at the Sexton home, and it made him throw up several times. The odor was also noticeable from the street. Frank Maupin, who boarded with the Sextons, testified that the stench was such that the doors and windows had to be closed while they were eating their meals. W. M. Sexton testified to substantially the same fact as Mrs. Sexton and said that sometimes the odor was so bad that he would have to leave the table, and throw up before he could get out of the room. Dr. W. O. Eaton, who treated a sick boy in the Sexton home, said that the offal from the sheep, hogs and cows was in the pen, that the filth which had accumulated for two or three days produced an offensive odor that was noticeable in the upstairs room and was very disagreeable. Virgil Sexton testified to the same conditions, and further stated that while he was sick, the windows were opened to give him fresh air and that the air was foul.
It is the rule in this state that a slaughterhouse in a thickly populated community is prima facie a nuisance,
Judgment reversed and cause remanded' with directions to enter judgment in conformity with this opinion.