tricky_ab
11-18-2009, 03:34 PM
The sound of a jet engine roaring overhead can be earsplitting. But a man living near San Francisco International Airport claims the noise was so powerful it ripped apart his marriage, too.
Stanley Hilton, 60, of Hillsborough, said in unique court papers that his wife of 13 years divorced him and took their young triplets with her last year because of "around-the-clock" jet noise at SFO. He also blamed his recent health and professional woes on the air and noise pollution, which he compared to bombs dropping in a war zone.
Hilton last week sued SFO, Hillsborough, the counties of San Mateo and San Francisco, dozens of airlines and jet manufacturers, and the real estate agents and couple that sold him his home on Darrell Road for $1.475 million in April 2003. "The marriage went downhill almost immediately upon moving to this location," he said Monday. "The house became extremely uncomfortable with the smog and the noise, and it caused enormous problems that led to the divorce."
Although Hillsborough is not typically under SFO flight paths, Hilton said the reverse propulsion of the jets and the home's hilly surroundings create an amphitheater-type sound he cannot bear. "When the aircraft take off, it sounds like bombs dropping. It's just nonstop like a sonic boom, all night long," he said. Hilton filed the 16-page suit in San Mateo County Superior Court on Nov. 10, and he is representing himself. He is demanding $15 million on claims of public nuisance, negligence, assault, battery, fraud and breach of contract.
SFO representatives said they would not comment on pending litigation.
Hilton is a former civil litigation attorney with a law degree from Duke University and was an active member of the State Bar of California for most of the past three decades, records show. However, the Bar said courts deemed Hilton ineligible to practice law in August.
He also sued the property manager and owner of a San Mateo building for $20 million in August after he got stuck between floors in an elevator for an hour, arguing that it led to a "phobia of riding in elevators."Hillsborough man blames plane noise for divorce, sues SFO (http://www.insidebayarea.com/sanmateocountytimes/localnews/ci_13802687)
Here's SFGate's quick take on it: (http://www.sfgate.com/cgi-bin/blogs/scavenger/detail?entry_id=51795)
And in this case of bizarre lawsuits, a former civil litigation attorney and father of young triplets is blaming his personal, professional, financial, emotional and physical anguish on jet noise and air pollution. Now he's suing, well, everyone, for $15 million.
According to the San Mateo County Times, Stanley Hilton and his family moved into a $1.4 million home in Hillsborough in 2003. Since then, Hilton claims they had been bombarded by the racket from SFO. In the 16-page complaint filed Nov. 10 (PDF) (http://openaccess1.sanmateocourt.org/getpdf/viewpdf.asp?courtcode=A&imagekey=0000102329), Hilton says the "jarring rumble" (which he likened to the sound of "bombs dropping in a war zone") and fumes from airplanes destroyed his marriage and career. He says he also suffered insomnia, cardiac and respiratory problems. He's suing for public nuisance, negligence, assault, battery, fraud and breach of contract.
Here are the defendants:
* SFO, SFO Airport Authority, San Francisco, San Mateo County, Hillsborough
* United Airlines and parent company UAL, Inc.; American Airlines; Virgin; Atlantic; Mexicana; Lufthansa; German Airlines; Air France; Federal Express; DHL; UPS; KLM Airlines; Northwest; Alaska Airlines; British Airways; Flying Tiger Lines; Japan Airlines; Korean Airlines; China Airlines; Singapore Airlines; Air Canada; Southwest; and Hawaiian.
* Michael and Kathleen Sparer (the couple who sold Hilton the house)
* Kathleen Sparer's employer, Cashin Real Estate Company
* Real estate agents Francis Hunter and Gina Haggerty
* Hunter and Haggerty's employer, Coldwell Banker
* Jet engine makers Rolls Royce Company and General Electric
* Jet manufacturers Boeing, Airbus and McDonnell Douglas
* An unknown inspector
* 500 other unknown defendants, who, we can only imagine, are all carriers, air traffic controllers, screeners, rental car companies, cabbies, retailers, janitors, parking attendants and the chauffeurs who hold up those little signs.
Stanley Hilton, 60, of Hillsborough, said in unique court papers that his wife of 13 years divorced him and took their young triplets with her last year because of "around-the-clock" jet noise at SFO. He also blamed his recent health and professional woes on the air and noise pollution, which he compared to bombs dropping in a war zone.
Hilton last week sued SFO, Hillsborough, the counties of San Mateo and San Francisco, dozens of airlines and jet manufacturers, and the real estate agents and couple that sold him his home on Darrell Road for $1.475 million in April 2003. "The marriage went downhill almost immediately upon moving to this location," he said Monday. "The house became extremely uncomfortable with the smog and the noise, and it caused enormous problems that led to the divorce."
Although Hillsborough is not typically under SFO flight paths, Hilton said the reverse propulsion of the jets and the home's hilly surroundings create an amphitheater-type sound he cannot bear. "When the aircraft take off, it sounds like bombs dropping. It's just nonstop like a sonic boom, all night long," he said. Hilton filed the 16-page suit in San Mateo County Superior Court on Nov. 10, and he is representing himself. He is demanding $15 million on claims of public nuisance, negligence, assault, battery, fraud and breach of contract.
SFO representatives said they would not comment on pending litigation.
Hilton is a former civil litigation attorney with a law degree from Duke University and was an active member of the State Bar of California for most of the past three decades, records show. However, the Bar said courts deemed Hilton ineligible to practice law in August.
He also sued the property manager and owner of a San Mateo building for $20 million in August after he got stuck between floors in an elevator for an hour, arguing that it led to a "phobia of riding in elevators."Hillsborough man blames plane noise for divorce, sues SFO (http://www.insidebayarea.com/sanmateocountytimes/localnews/ci_13802687)
Here's SFGate's quick take on it: (http://www.sfgate.com/cgi-bin/blogs/scavenger/detail?entry_id=51795)
And in this case of bizarre lawsuits, a former civil litigation attorney and father of young triplets is blaming his personal, professional, financial, emotional and physical anguish on jet noise and air pollution. Now he's suing, well, everyone, for $15 million.
According to the San Mateo County Times, Stanley Hilton and his family moved into a $1.4 million home in Hillsborough in 2003. Since then, Hilton claims they had been bombarded by the racket from SFO. In the 16-page complaint filed Nov. 10 (PDF) (http://openaccess1.sanmateocourt.org/getpdf/viewpdf.asp?courtcode=A&imagekey=0000102329), Hilton says the "jarring rumble" (which he likened to the sound of "bombs dropping in a war zone") and fumes from airplanes destroyed his marriage and career. He says he also suffered insomnia, cardiac and respiratory problems. He's suing for public nuisance, negligence, assault, battery, fraud and breach of contract.
Here are the defendants:
* SFO, SFO Airport Authority, San Francisco, San Mateo County, Hillsborough
* United Airlines and parent company UAL, Inc.; American Airlines; Virgin; Atlantic; Mexicana; Lufthansa; German Airlines; Air France; Federal Express; DHL; UPS; KLM Airlines; Northwest; Alaska Airlines; British Airways; Flying Tiger Lines; Japan Airlines; Korean Airlines; China Airlines; Singapore Airlines; Air Canada; Southwest; and Hawaiian.
* Michael and Kathleen Sparer (the couple who sold Hilton the house)
* Kathleen Sparer's employer, Cashin Real Estate Company
* Real estate agents Francis Hunter and Gina Haggerty
* Hunter and Haggerty's employer, Coldwell Banker
* Jet engine makers Rolls Royce Company and General Electric
* Jet manufacturers Boeing, Airbus and McDonnell Douglas
* An unknown inspector
* 500 other unknown defendants, who, we can only imagine, are all carriers, air traffic controllers, screeners, rental car companies, cabbies, retailers, janitors, parking attendants and the chauffeurs who hold up those little signs.