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Beyonce Settles with Neighbor over Noise Complaints

By Laura Strachan, Esq. on September 10, 2010 | Last updated on March 21, 2019

Why don't singer Beyonce Knowles's neighbors love her? Because her Los Angeles neighbor, Phillip Markowitz, claimed that Knowles "shattered his privacy" with the lights and noise from her music video shoot for the song, "Why Don't You Love Me."

According to Fox, Markowitz sought over $25,000 damages stemming from the all-day shoot. In addition to noise, Markowitz also claimed that the production crew blocked his Hollywood Hills driveway until 11 p.m. Markowitz has since dropped the claim. Although the terms of the settlement are unknown, Markowitz told media outlets that he is happy with the 5-figure settlement.

Markowitz is quoted by OMG, Music: "I am happy with the settlement, but this lawsuit shouldn't have happened in the first place. They set up on my property without asking and the settlement should send notice to other production companies that they need to respect the rights of other property owners." Whether shooting a music video, or allowing a dog to bark at all hours of the night, neighbor noise complaints are a common problem.

As the Beyonce noise complaints proved, a neighbor can sue a noisy neighbor for the disruption to his or her privacy, and recover for the damage the disturbance has caused. Neighbors can also seek an injuction to stop the offending behavior. However, pulling the litigation trigger is not necessarily the best way to approach the problem initially. Filing suit against the neighbor next door can cause years of tension. Approaching the neighbor and making attempts at a peaceful and informal resolution can serve to stop the problem, and keep the peace. In the case of Beyonce, one can only imagine the cameo Markowitz could have had in the music video had he approached the situation differently.

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