## Facts

- Neighboring landowners owned property near a large cement plant operated by Atlantic Cement Company, Inc. in the Hudson River Valley near Albany, New York.
- Plaintiffs alleged the plant’s operations emitted dirt and smoke and caused vibrations that materially interfered with the use and value of their properties.
- After trial, the court found the plant’s emissions and vibrations constituted a nuisance and that plaintiffs suffered substantial injury.
- The trial court awarded temporary damages but denied injunctive relief.
- Total permanent damages for all plaintiffs were quantified at approximately $185,000, while the plant represented an investment of roughly $45 million and provided more than 350 jobs.

## Issues

1. After a finding of nuisance and substantial injury, must a court grant a traditional injunction to abate the nuisance, even if it would effectively close a major industrial operation?
2. May a court instead award permanent damages for present and future harm and condition injunctive relief on payment of those damages?

## Decision

- The Court of Appeals reversed and remanded for entry of an injunction against continuation of the nuisance.
- The injunction was to be vacated if the defendant paid permanent damages in an amount fixed by the court.
- The court approved permanent damages as compensation for all present and future property loss from the ongoing interference, allowing the plant to continue operating upon payment.
- The court departed from the usual practice of granting an unconditional injunction upon a showing of nuisance and substantial damage.
- The dissent objected that permanent damages effectively imposed a permanent servitude for a private enterprise and preferred an abatement-focused remedy (such as a delayed injunction).

## Legal Principles

- Although nuisance plus substantial harm typically supports injunctive relief, a court may deny an unconditional injunction where abatement would impose greatly disproportionate economic consequences compared to the proven harm.
- In such cases, permanent damages may be awarded to compensate injured landowners for both current and future losses from the continuing nuisance.
- A conditional injunction—enjoined conduct unless and until permanent damages are paid—can be used to compensate plaintiffs while avoiding immediate cessation of a substantial enterprise.
- Permanent damages function like compensation for a continuing burden on land that may persist over time and affect successors in interest.

## Conclusion

The court held that, despite a proven nuisance causing substantial harm, equitable relief need not require shutting down an economically significant plant; instead, the court ordered an injunction that would be lifted upon payment of permanent damages fully compensating plaintiffs for the ongoing interference.


Boomer v. Atl. Cement Co., 26 N.Y.2d 219, 309 N.Y.S.2d 312, 257 N.E.2d 870 (1970)