Nuncio v. Rock Knoll Townhome Village, Inc.

2016 OK CIV APP 83, 389 P.3d 370, 2016 Okla. Civ. App. LEXIS 51, 2016 WL 7665525
CourtCourt of Civil Appeals of Oklahoma
DecidedMay 13, 2016
DocketCase Number: 114,370
StatusPublished
Cited by3 cases

This text of 2016 OK CIV APP 83 (Nuncio v. Rock Knoll Townhome Village, Inc.) is published on Counsel Stack Legal Research, covering Court of Civil Appeals of Oklahoma primary law. Counsel Stack provides free access to over 12 million legal documents including statutes, case law, regulations, and constitutions.

Bluebook
Nuncio v. Rock Knoll Townhome Village, Inc., 2016 OK CIV APP 83, 389 P.3d 370, 2016 Okla. Civ. App. LEXIS 51, 2016 WL 7665525 (Okla. Ct. App. 2016).

Opinion

Opinion by

Kenneth L. Buettner, Vice-Chief Judge and Presiding Judge:

¶ 1 Plaintiff/Appellant Ariel Nuncio, individually and as father and next friend of Sherel Nuncio, a minor, appeals an order dismissing his First Amended Petition for failure to state a claim against Defendants/Appellees Rock Knoll Townhome Village, Inc. (Village), Bill McGraw, Ronald Plato, John Plato, Moriah Plato, and Mildred Plato (collectively, Defendants). Nuncio sued Village, its president and his adjacent neighbors for private nuisance, negligence and breach of contract arising out of the neighbors’ smoking in their home, including its patio and garage. Village’s rules and regulations did not impose any contractual duty to protect a tenant from another resident smoking tobacco in his private home. No Oklahoma law declares smoking in a private home to be unlawful and therefore Nuncio cannot show the neighbors’ smoking is a nuisance. Nuncio can show no set of facts entitling him to relief on his claims under Oklahoma law and we affirm.

¶ 2 In his July 24, 2015 First Amended Petition, Nuncio averred that he lives with his child in a Village condo owned by his mother and the Platos own and occupy the adjacent unit. Nuncio alleged that the Platos smoke in their home, including in the garage and patio areas, and that he is therefore forced to keep the windows and doors of his unit closed to prevent exposure to secondhand smoke’. Nuncio asserted Village governs the common areas of the 56 unit condo complex pursuant to rules and regulations and an amended declaration of covenants, conditions, and restrictions. Nuncio asserted that possession of lighted tobacco has been declared a public nuisance and danger to public health in 21 O.S.2011 § 1247.

¶3 Nuncio asserted causes of action for nuisance, breach of contract, negligence, gross negligence, and negligence per se.1 Nuncio asserted all Defendants breached duties to him by failing to enforce the Village rule that no occupant shall disrupt the peace, quiet and freedom of any other resident; by allowing tobacco smoke to traverse the common areas and migrate to Nuncio’s unit and to make physical contact with Nuncio’s person; by causing Nuncio emotional distress through emissions of tobacco smoke; by failing to prevent tobacco smoke from entering the windows and doors of Nuncio’s unit; and by failing to prevent or remediate their emissions of tobacco smoke near his unit. Nuncio asserted the doctrine of res ipsa loquitor applied, claiming his injuries would not have occurred-without all Defendants’ negligence. For his negligence per se claim, Nuncio asserted all Defendants violated 76 O.S.2011 § 1; 76 O.S.2011 § 5(a); [21] O.S.2011 § 22; 50 O.S.2011 § 1; 21 O.S.2011 § 119[1]; and 21 O.S.2011 § 1760.2 Nuncio asserted all Defen[373]*373dants were liable for creating a private nuisance by causing or failing to prevent the emission of tobacco smoke which migrated across common areas and invaded Nuncio’s property. Nuncio averred numerous types of damages he suffered as a result of the Platos’ smoking.

¶4 The Platos filed their Motion to Dismiss for failure to state a claim in August 2015. They asserted that Nuncio had not cited any authority prohibiting Village homeowners or lessees from smoking in their own homes, garages or patios. The Platos asserted Village’s rules and regulations do not prohibit smoking. The Platos further averred they had found no law, statute, regulation, or ordinance in Oklahoma prohibiting smoking in a private residence. They contended Nuncio therefore was asking the court to impose a new duty. The Platos contended that because smoking in a private home was not illegal or prohibited, then Nuncio could show no set of facts entitling him to relief on his claims.

¶ 5 Village and McGraw also filed a Motion to Dismiss for failure to state a claim. They asserted they had no control over the Platos’ smoking in their private home. They asserted Nuncio could not amend his petition to show a claim for relief. Nuncio filed a response to the motions to dismiss and' the Defendants filed replies.

¶ 6 The trial court dismissed Nuncio’s First Amended Petition for failure to state a claim in an order filed September 18, 2015. Nuncio appeals, We review de novo an order dismissing for failure to state a claim, taking all allegations in Nuncio’s petition as true. Gens v. Casady School, 2008 OK 5, ¶ 8, 177 P.3d 565.

The function of a motion to dismiss is to test the law of the claims, not the facts supporting them. No dismissal for failure [374]*374to state a claim upon which relief may be granted should be allowed unless it appears beyond doubt that the plaintiff can prove no set of facts in support of the claim which would entitle relief.... Dismissal is appropriate only for lack of any cognizable legal theory to support the claim or for insufficient facts under a cognizable theory.The movant bears the substantial burden of demonstrating any insufficiency.

Id. (footnotes omitted). In this case, our de novo review shows that even taking all Nuncio’s allegations as true, he has failed to state a claim for relief under Oklahoma law.

¶ 7 We first address Nuncio’s negligence claim. The essential elements of a negligence claim are a duty owed by the defendant to protect the plaintiff from the injury alleged, a breach of the duty, and injury to the plaintiff proximately caused thereby. Fargo v. Hays-Kuehn, 2015 OK 56, ¶ 13, 352 P.3d 1223. Nuncio has not asserted Village has any rale against smoking in private units. Although Oklahoma statutes prohibit smoking in certain public places, the Legislature has not yet limited a person’s right to smoke in his or her own home. Indeed, the Oklahoma Smoking in Public Places and Indoor Workplaces Act expressly states:

A. Except as specifically provided in the Smoking in Public Places and Indoor Workplaces Act, no person shall smoke in a public place, ....
D. A private residence is not a “public place" within the meaning of the Smoking in Public Places and Indoor Workplaces Act except that areas in a private residence that are used as a licensed child care facility during hours of operation are “public places” within the meaning of the Smoking in Public Places and Indoor Workplaces Act.

63 O.S.2011 § 1-1523(D) (emphasis added). Nuncio has not alleged that the Platos’ home was used as a licensed child care facility. Because the Platos “did not have a duty to refrain from smoking inside them apartment or to avoid exposing them neighbor to secondhand smoke that unintentionally seeped into the neighbor’s apartment, [Nuncio’s] negligence claim must fail.” See Ewen v. Maccherone, 32 Misc.3d 12, 927 N.Y.S.2d 274 (2011). Oklahoma law does not support a cause of action for negligence for smoking in a private home that is not a licensed day care facility. The trial court properly dismissed Nuncio’s negligence claim. Similarly, we find none of the statutes cited by Nuncio in his negligence per se claim is violated by smoking in a private home that is not a licensed day care facility and therefore Nuncio can prove no set of facts entitling him to relief under negligence per se.

¶8 We next consider Nuncio’s claim for nuisance. As quoted above, in note 2, “(a) nuisance consists in unlawfully doing an act, or omitting to perform a duty....” 50 O.S.2011 § 1 (emphasis added). For an act or omission to be a nuisance in Oklahoma, it must be unlawful.

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Cite This Page — Counsel Stack

Bluebook (online)
2016 OK CIV APP 83, 389 P.3d 370, 2016 Okla. Civ. App. LEXIS 51, 2016 WL 7665525, Counsel Stack Legal Research, https://law.counselstack.com/opinion/nuncio-v-rock-knoll-townhome-village-inc-oklacivapp-2016.