Pride, Privacy, Property Values Central to Most Disputes

Good fences don’t always make for good neighbors.

Drs. Said Hemmati and Samuel Rahbar have been battling for nearly four years over property lines, soil erosion, a retaining wall and now a cyclone fence that separates the less-than-neighborly Encino neighbors.

The Hemmati and Rahbar families are even under a mutual court-imposed restraining order aimed at keeping the two property owners a safe distance from each other.

The L’Engle family of Newbury Park has had its own problems with back-yard neighbors, the Martins. Ralph and Sandra Martin were unhappy with a 12-foot-high playhouse that John and Debra L’Engle built out of some old plywood for their daughters. The Martins sued, claiming invasion of privacy, loss of quiet enjoyment of their property, and “great mental, physical and nervous pain and suffering.”

The L’Engles recently removed the playhouse and the Martins finally dropped their lawsuit.

Neighbors are suing each other these days over fences, tennis court lights, soil problems, noise and remodeling projects; ego, concerns about privacy and property values figure prominently in all these disputes.

When problems come up between neighbors, “there’s a lot at stake financially,” observed Lee Barker, managing partner at the law firm Barker & Richardson in Pasadena. “That makes them more inclined to see a lawyer,” he said.

Besides, Barker added, homes are being built closer together than they used to be, and many people live in dense condo or townhouse developments where there’s very little elbow room. All this--plus a litigious society--may explain why so many neighbors are fighting each other with lawsuits and lawyers.

Barker represented a property owner in Simi Valley who sued not just one neighbor, but the whole neighborhood association. When Barker’s client put up a redwood fence to surround the back yard, the neighbors balked and demanded that it be removed or replaced with a less obtrusive iron fence.

The property owner filed suit, arguing that removal of the fence would diminish the value of the home by $100,000 because a wood fence was the only way to ensure privacy and security. The neighbors eventually relented on the fence, Barker recalled, but not without a lengthy and expensive battle.

“We were absolutely mortified when we first got sued,” said Newbury Park resident and playhouse builder John L’Engle. “Frankly, the playhouse was not very attractive; I admit that.”

But the L’Engles didn’t expect their neighbors to respond with a lawsuit. In a bid to settle the dispute, the L’Engles said they almost signed a settlement agreement that would have required removal of the playhouse by August and put a limit on any new structure in the L’Engle’s yard more than six feet tall.

Meanwhile, the L’Engles’ daughters lost interest in the playhouse, so the playhouse was taken down without signing any settlement.

“You can’t believe that people get so worked up over some things,” said Cindy Miscikowski, chief deputy to Los Angeles City Councilman Marvin Braude. “I’m constantly getting calls from neighbors complaining about each other. Most disputes start out with a concern about something that changes the status quo.”

Most of the disputes get settled, but some inevitably involve lawyers or physical violence.

The fights get so serious that they almost seem comical.

Neighbors Hemmati and Rahbar both have plenty of things to say about each other that aren’t exactly fit to print. Both physicians have lived in their hilly Encino neighborhood for about a dozen years. For a long time, the neighbors were at peace, but about four years ago, their feud began.

Hemmati alleges that Rahbar tried to build a wall 20 feet into Hemmati’s property and annex the land. Rahbar claims that Hemmati was jealous about Rahbar’s new swimming pool and that it’s too bad if Hemmati doesn’t like the retaining wall that replaces what used to be a tree-filled hillside.

Hemmati finally decided last year to put up a fence in his yard, about an inch away from Rahbar’s retaining wall.

“The retaining wall was an eyesore,” Hemmati said. “Who would want to buy my house?” At least now, he said, the fence looks a bit better than the wall.

It’s an offensive fence, Rahbar countered. In some spots, the fence is about 10 feet tall, he said. “The view is part of a property’s assets and my view has been blocked,” Rahbar said. No longer does he have a clear view of the Valley. “I lost the view I had for many years. This is just harassment.”

Rahbar complained to the Los Angeles Department of Building and Safety, which told him that the height limit for fences was six feet, not 10 feet. Hemmati made two appeals and lost both--first with the city zoning administrator, and then with the Board of Zoning Appeals.

But the fence is still standing. Hemmati refuses to back down and he promises to keep up his fight, even though he may face prosecution by the city attorney.

“I’m very bitter about the way the city has handled things,” Hemmati said. “If we have to, we’ll end up in court and let a jury decide.”