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Should You Sue Your Neighbors for Blasting Annoying Holiday Music?

Some people may have a little too much holiday spirit—much to their neighbors’ dismay. They’re the types who encircle their homes with garlands of blindingly bright Christmas lights, erect full-scale winter wonderland scenes complete with inflatable Santas, reindeer, and would-be Secretary of State Rex Tillerson figures on their front lawns. And along with it all, they blast holiday music nonstop from Thanksgiving through New Year’s Day.

But some aggrieved neighbors across the country who have heard “Jingle Bell Rock” and “I Saw Mommy Kissing Santa Claus” one too many times are turning to the courts to try to force those Yuletide offenders to take a cue from “Silent Night” instead.

New York City attorney Nick Wilder recently sued his neighbor to get her to turn off the singing reindeer in her outdoor Christmas display, according to The New York Post.

“It’s not like she plays it a half-hour every day,” Wilder told the Post. “It’s on from 7 a.m. to midnight.”

The alleged offender is socialite Lisa Maria Falcone, owner of three townhouses across the street from Wilder’s apartment on the generally sleepy Upper East Side of Manhattan. She is the wife of hedge fund billionaire Philip Falcone.

“I like a Christmas song on Christmas Day,” Wilder told the Post. “But I’m tired of hearing ‘Jingle Bells’ like 700 or 800 times a day.”

Annoying holiday music isn’t just a big city problem. Miriam Galan, 78, found herself on the wrong side of a similar situation when her West Palm Beach, FL, neighbors called the cops, and then filed a lawsuit against her, for putting up a Christmas display that includes a 6-foot-tall Santa on her front yard that sings Christmas carols and dances, according to NBC affiliate WPTV.

Galan installed the Santa about a week ago and turns it on from about 6 to 9 p.m., she tells realtor.com®. It sings in both Spanish and English! Her neighbors, however, complain that she leaves it on all night. They’re seeking more than $15,000 in damages.

Galan, who doesn’t plan to take it down until the holidays are over, has retained an attorney.

“This is my property,” she says.

Most cities and towns have noise ordinances to prevent folks from driving their neighbors insane—and they vary by location. But housing attorney Aaron Shmulewitz of New York’s Belkin Burden Wenig & Goldman suggests politely speaking to neighbors about lowering the volume of “Grandma Got Run Over by a Reindeer” before calling the cops or lawyers.

One factor, aside from adhering to the Christmas spirit, is the simple legal reality that by the time the lawsuit goes before a judge, the holidays—and the offensive music—will most likely be over. And the plaintiff could be out tens of thousands of dollars in legal fees.

“It’s much ado about nothing,” Shmulewitz says. “Unless you live on a deserted island or something, there’s going to be some sounds coming from your neighbor. There has to be some tolerance shown.”

Those thinking they’ll plan ahead and sue now to prevent their neighbors from blasting those annoying carols again next year won’t have much of a case as “there’s nothing to get an injunction against,” Shmulewitz says.

Only if a neighbor is blasting “Feliz Navidad” at insanity-inducing frequencies and audio levels should neighbors realistically consider taking legal action, says Houston real estate attorney Cassandra McGarvey of Sanders Willyard.

“This is probably going to cause you more problems later on,” she says. “By talking with them and working out some boundaries for their Christmas displays, you’ll gain some leeway whenever you do something to annoy them.”

And calling the police should not be done lightly, most agree.

“Do you want to be the person calling the cops complaining about a neighbor’s Christmas music?” Shmulewitz asks. “Do you think cops are going to look kindly at that?”

Lisa Maria Falcone is being sued by her New York City neighbor to force her to stop playing holiday music in her Christmas display.

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