Overlawyered: Chronicling The High Cost Of Our Legal System

Sued for taking baths too early

Shannon Peterson, a special education teacher in the Arvada, Colo. public schools, “can’t believe she’s being sued for bathing before leaving for work.” But the elderly couple who lives upstairs from her Denver condo unit have been complaining about noisy pipes, and unfortunately for Ms. Peterson they happen to have a son, Sheldon Smith, who’s […]

Shannon Peterson, a special education teacher in the Arvada, Colo. public schools, “can’t believe she’s being sued for bathing before leaving for work.” But the elderly couple who lives upstairs from her Denver condo unit have been complaining about noisy pipes, and unfortunately for Ms. Peterson they happen to have a son, Sheldon Smith, who’s an attorney at the large law firm of Holland and Hart. Represented by their son, the Smiths “sued Peterson just before Christmas, citing the ‘reckless and negligent use of her bathtub.'” Before that, the younger Smith had fired off a letter to Peterson, saying her “intransigence … and tortuous conduct have resulted in incredible sleep deprivation for Mr. and Mrs. Smith. Your obstinacy has ruled the day. That will now cease.” According to the Denver Post, his demand letter insisted that Peterson not run water in her bathtub before 8 a.m. Peterson says she can’t afford steep legal fees on a schoolteacher’s salary; a judge has scheduled a hearing on the suit for March 22. (Mike McPhee, “Lawsuit: Baths swamp sleep”, Denver Post, Feb. 21).

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15 Comments

  • not everyone does have a lawyer friend. Round 1 : fight begins lawyer friend vs. lawyer son. Let’s follow up.

    • By ANIRBAN

  • No, no, no. Mr. Smith, you’re doing this all wrong. You don’t sue the poor teacher, you sue the rich pipe manufacturer. (Unless it’s not about the money…)

    • By Peter

  • Is it a typo, or did Smith the younger really mean that Ms. Peterson’s conduct in the tub was marked by repeated bends and twists? If he did, how does he know?

    • By Michael

  • The lawyer involved should be disbarred.

    The couple upstairs should be thrown out and pay damages to the couple they have sued.

    Any judge that doesn’t throw this suit out the moment it enters his court room should be thrown out of office, preferably literally.

    This is certainly one of the most ridiculous suits you’ve mentioned in quite some time, which is saying an awful lot.

    • By Deoxy

  • Do You Ever Shower?

    …

  • Teacher being sued for bathing too early

    Shannon Peterson is being sued by her upstairs neighbors. Seems Ms. Peterson, a special education teacher, is in the habit of bathing before she goes to work. The elderly neighbors, the Smiths, have complained that Peterson running the water causes …

  • There must be more to the story than has been told. Why did they not complain to or sue the more likely candidate: The apartment management firm or the condo board? Sounds like a blatant case of intimidation to me.

    • By Dave

  • I started to e-mail Holland & Hart to shame them for allowing an employee to enter into such trivality, then stopped out of fear thet I would find myself being sued for making too much electronic noise!

    • By Mike

  • This is easily the most bizarre lawsuit I’ve heard of… I’d imagine there should’ve been discussions with the HOA to resolve the actual problem- noisy pipes, rather than go after another tenant.

    • By h0mi

  • The Denver Post story sez that the condo homeowners association board has already told the plaintiffs that their demands are out of line and if the noise bothers them they should insulate their own unit.

    According to the newspaper story, Ms. Peterson had already spent plenty of bucks having her bathroom tile removed, pipes insulated – and even hired sound engineers to measure the sound levels, who found no excessive noise.

    I suspect they didn’t sue the HOA board because they figured they’d get too much pushback if they did that, vs. cutting a mere schoolteacher out of the herd and drawing a bead on her.

    • By Anon

  • Sued for Taking a Bath

    Via Overlawyered, is the incredible story of Shannon Peterson, who is being sued for taking a bath before work. Really:Many people find the sound of running water soothing and peaceful. Not Marvin and Goldie Smith, who have sued their neighbor

  • Our Warm and Fuzzy Litigious Society

    This sets a new standard. A couple, aged 83 and 78 respectively, are suing their upstairs neighbor, Shannon Peterson for bathing too early in the morning. h/t Overlawyered via Coyote Blog…

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  • get that lawyer out of my shower

    Is “My Mommy made me do it,” a defense for bringing a frivolous claim? How about, “Plaintiffs threatened to disown me”?

  • The trial of the century is coming up March 22. We will finally learn if the “tyranny of the tub” will finally be brought to heel by Mr.Montgomery Burns, er, Smithers, er Smith, as he champions the cause of his own well-heeled progenitors as they seek what will no doubt be sizeable damages from this wreckless and negligently impudent member of the lesser class. Bluebloods everywhere (whose own baths are drawn for them at civilized hours of the day) will no doubt breathlessly await the results of Mssr. Smith’s “full frontal” assault.