Opinion ID: 2617139
Heading Depth: 2
Heading Rank: 1

Heading: Is a Claim of Nuisance or Other Interference a Claim for Wrongful Entry or the Invasion of the Right of Private Occupancy?

Text: Kitsap County also contends that the nuisance claim that was maintained against it is equivalent to a claim for wrongful entry and other invasion of the right of private occupancy. We agree. We reach that conclusion for the same reasons that we concluded a trespass claim is a claim for personal injury. A nuisance is an unreasonable interference with another's use and enjoyment of property, whereas a trespass is an invasion of the interest in exclusive possession of property. Bradley v. American Smelting & Ref. Co., 104 Wash.2d 677, 685, 709 P.2d 782 (1985), answer to certified question conformed to, 635 F.Supp. 1154 (W.D.Wash.1986). There is little substance to the historical distinction between trespass and nuisance where pollution is involved. Bradley, 104 Wash.2d at 684, 709 P.2d 782. The reason, as the Restatement (Second) of Torts explains is that an invasion of the possession of land normally involves some degree of interference with its use and enjoyment. RESTATEMENT (SECOND) OF TORTS § 821D cmt. e (1979). In light of the similarity between a nuisance and a trespass, what we have indicated above in regard to trespass is equally applicable to nuisance.