A Portland couple is suing their neighbor for over $200,000 regarding an apparent foul odor emanating from a tiny home on their property.
John Benjamin, 77, and Trudy Benjamin, 67, filed a lawsuit against neighbor Karen Ward, claiming they have had to make changes to their living situation and even faced physical ailments in Parkrose Heights in Portland, Oregon.
The complaint says that a tiny home appeared beside Karen‘s home last summer, via documents obtained by People.
In an interview with The Oregonian, Trudy says they now wear gas masks with carbon filters for going from their car to their home. They also claim John previously collapsed due to the odor and chipped his knee, requiring surgery, before they started wearing masks.
They have “suffered respiratory illness, nausea, lightheadedness and headaches,” per the complaint, and John specifically “suffered one or more falls, due to the dizziness and/or nausea and/or respiratory problems created by the Tiny Home chemical toilet fumes.”
A doctor has allegedly even suggested that they move.
The couple claim that raw sewage, and then toxic gases from chemicals trying to mask the odor, are the cause.
“My husband started walking by and started smelling it and he said ‘My God, what’s that?’ And I said ‘Yeah, I’ve been smelling it for a while.,” she told the outlet.
A tenant allegedly lives in the tiny home.
The couple’s lawyer Karl Anuta said he thinks the tenant might have used bleach to neutralize the odor, but combining that with ammonia in urine causes a toxic gas.
According to Healthline: “The active ingredient in household bleach is a compound called sodium hypochlorite. The sodium hypochlorite in bleach can react with ammonia, producing a potentially toxic type of gas called chloramine gas. If you’re exposed to chloramine gas, you can experience: irritation of your eyes, nose, and throat watering eyes runny nose coughing wheezing or shortness of breath nausea [and/or] chest pain.”
The neighbor reportedly said in response to complaints from the couple that they were going to install a composting toilet and have the chemical toilet pumped regularly, and was trying to get the tiny home hooked up to a sewer line.
In response to the news outlet, the neighbor insisted they “had an ‘RV toilet’ and ‘portable septic tank’ that came installed in the unit. In response to a leak or spill, the RV toilet and tank were both removed from the unit in late April and any spill residue will be cleaned with soil removed.”
The city of Portland sent notice back in March that Karen was violating city code and had 30 to 60 days to begin correcting violations, and failure to comply would result in fines.
The Benjamins want “non-economic damages in an amount the jury determines to be fair but in no event to exceed $200,000,” per the complaint via People, and are asking that the tiny home be removed, or prohibited from further use until connected to a sewer system, and the nearby area to be cleaned.
Posted To:Human Interest Portland Tiny Homes