Lebanon Theatres Corp. v. Northeast Swim Club

51 Pa. D. & C.2d 21, 1970 Pa. Dist. & Cnty. Dec. LEXIS 269
CourtPennsylvania Court of Common Pleas, Lebanon County
DecidedSeptember 17, 1970
StatusPublished

This text of 51 Pa. D. & C.2d 21 (Lebanon Theatres Corp. v. Northeast Swim Club) is published on Counsel Stack Legal Research, covering Pennsylvania Court of Common Pleas, Lebanon County primary law. Counsel Stack provides free access to over 12 million legal documents including statutes, case law, regulations, and constitutions.

Bluebook
Lebanon Theatres Corp. v. Northeast Swim Club, 51 Pa. D. & C.2d 21, 1970 Pa. Dist. & Cnty. Dec. LEXIS 269 (Pa. Super. Ct. 1970).

Opinion

GATES, P. J.,

August 28, 1970, plaintiffs filed an affidavit that immediate and irreparable damage will result to them before the above matter can be heard. Consequently, we issued a preliminary injunction, enjoining defendant from operating its swimming pool after the hours of sunset and during the nighttime, pending a hearing before us.

A hearing was held on August 31, 1970, at the conclusion of which we invited counsel to file their written requests for findings and conclusions within 10 days.

On September 3, 1970, we entered an order and decree vacating the preliminary injunction and noting that this adjudication would be subsequently filed.

FINDINGS OF FACT

1. Plaintiff, Lebanon Theatres Corporation, is a duly organized Pennsylvania corporation, having its principal place of business at 1316 Elm Street, Lebanon, Pa.

2. Plaintiffs, John C. Weber and Florence Weber, his wife, are sui juris individuals residing at 1316 Elm Street, Lebanon, Pa., and the owners of premises at North Fifteenth Avenue and East Lehman Street, North Lebanon Township, Lebanon County, Pa.

3. Defendant, Northeast Swim Club, is a nonprofit corporation duly organized under the laws of the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania, which has operated [23]*23a swimming pool to the west and slightly to the north of plaintiffs’ business since August 22,1970.

4. Plaintiff, Lebanon Theatres Corporation, has continuously operated a drive-in theatre at North Fifteenth Avenue and East Lehman Streets, as lessee of the premises since July, 1950.

5. The Key Drive-In Theatre is located to the north of Legislative Route 422, and the following business establishments are located in the immediate vicinity:

(a) Mobile Service Station;

(b) Klopp & Cetron Furniture Co.;

(c) Beth Products, a garment factory;

(d) Certain other business establishments which render the nature of the area commercial.

6. The drive-in theatre operates nightly from “dark” for about five hours.

7. The drive-in theatre has a capacity of 650 cars and operates on weekends at 80 percent of capacity.

8. The drive-in movie screen is located on the west end of plaintiffs’ premises, and the patrons park at speaker poles which fan out therefrom in an easterly direction.

9. The drive-in movie requires darkness to operate its business.

10. Defendant, Northeast Swim Club, is a private club serving a limited membership of about 226 families.

11. Defendant’s pool is located about 1,000 feet northwest of plaintiffs’ premises.

12. Lights from defendant’s pool glare and shine directly toward the premises of plaintiffs, although no light from defendant’s property is projected onto plaintiffs’ property.

13. Prior to the time when defendant began construction of its pool facility, it was contacted by the president of plaintiff corporation and made aware [24]*24of the impact that its lights could have upon plaintiffs’ operation.

14. Since the lights have been turned on, patrons have complained to plaintiff corporation or its agents concerning the distracting lights.

15. The lights render a portion of the premises of plaintiffs unsuitable for viewing motion pictures while the pool is lighted.

16. Defendant’s pool is located at an elevation higher than plaintiffs’ premises.

17. The bylaws of the Northeast Swim Club provide for the operation of the swimming facilities until 9 p.m.

18. Many of the members of the Northeast Swim Club are working people and, during the week, have the opportunity of using the facilities only during the evening hours.

19. The lighting facilities in the swimming pool itself are as follows:

(a) 8 underwater 500-watt Stonco lights recessed in the walls of the swimming pool;

(b) 1 25-foot standard supporting 2 500-watt quartz Stonco lights facing north and situate south of the pool;

(c) 1 25-foot standard north of the pool with 1 500-watt quartz Stonco lamp;

(d) 1 25-foot standard along the east property to the north of the pool with 2 500-watt quartz Stonco lamps;

(e) 8 100-watt recessed lights with shields situate on the outside of the bathhouse, as follows:

(1) 1 on east end of bathhouse;

(2) 4 across front of bathhouse (south side);

(3) 3 on west end of bathhouse;

(f) interior lights from the concession stand which light is emitted when the concession stand is operated.

[25]*2520. On or about August 18, 1970, one of the plaintiffs, John C. Weber, complained to Paul Rauch of the light located at the north end of the pool in front of the bathhouse, saying that it cast a beam and was particularly objectionable to the operation of plaintiffs’ business. As a result of said complaint, the Northeast Swim Club discontinued the use of said light.

21. The Key Drive-In Theatre business operation is a business which is extra sensitive to light, that is to say, it is more directly affected by light than that of an ordinary business operation.

22. The lights from the Northeast Swim Club do not cast beams into the cars of the patrons, but the light emitted from the premises of the Northeast Swim Club appeared as a “halo effect” such as one might see when approaching a city from a distance.

DISCUSSION

The operative facts in this case are not seriously in dispute. At the trial, evidence to the following effect was introduced. Plaintiffs, for all practical purposes, are the owners of the Key Drive-In Theatre located in North Lebanon Township, éast of the City of Lebanon, in an area concededly commercial in nature, although North Lebanon Township has no zoning ordinance. The Key Drive-In has been in operation since 1950.

The photographs and evidence disclose that the drive-in theatre has no walls, fences, wings or shadow boxes to exclude light from the surrounding properties. Furthermore, it was conclusively established by the evidence and testimony that the operation of a drive-in theatre is extremely delicate with respect to light in any form, as it may affect the projection of motion pictures on the screen and as it may detract the attention of viewers of the movie.

[26]*26On August 22, 1970, defendant, a nonprofit corporation organized for the purpose of building and operating a family-type swimming pool, commenced its operations. Defendant constructed its pool in such a manner as to enable its members to swim in the evening hours for the purpose of accommodating members who worked during the daytime and who would otherwise be excluded from the activity. Necessarily, this involved the inclusion of underwater lights and the erection of spotlights to light the pool area. In addition, there are lights in the refreshment stand and fights in the bathhouse. Defendant’s property is located to the north and to the west of plaintiffs’ property at a distance of approximately 1,000 feet.

Plaintiffs’ evidence supports the finding that because of the position of the screen in relationship to defendant’s pool, some of the patrons in the northern part of the drive-in theatre are distracted from viewing the movie on the screen by the existence of the fights eminating from the pool area.

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Sheridan Drive-In Theatre, Inc. v. State
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Bluebook (online)
51 Pa. D. & C.2d 21, 1970 Pa. Dist. & Cnty. Dec. LEXIS 269, Counsel Stack Legal Research, https://law.counselstack.com/opinion/lebanon-theatres-corp-v-northeast-swim-club-pactcompllebano-1970.