- A Portland couple filed a lawsuit claiming odors from a neighbor’s tiny home chemical toilet made them sick and disrupted daily life.
- Plaintiffs John and Trudy Benjamin vs. neighbor Karen Ward (Multnomah County Circuit Court).
- Northeast Portland, near NE San Rafael Street.
- Tiny home was occupied without being properly connected to the city sewer, causing fumes that “blanketed” the Benjamins’ yard and sometimes seeped into their home.
- Alleged impacts: Nausea, dizziness, headaches, respiratory problems; claim John Benjamin suffered falls and a knee injury requiring surgery.
- What they want: $250,000 in damages + a court order to stop use/remove the tiny home until it’s sewer-connected, plus cleanup of alleged contamination.
- Legal claims: Nuisance, trespass, negligence.
PORTLAND Ore. (KPTV) – A Portland couple has filed a $250,000 lawsuit against a neighbor, alleging fumes from a tiny home’s chemical toilet created health problems, forced them to keep their windows shut and interfered with their ability to use their property.
According to a complaint filed May 8 in Multnomah County Circuit Court, John and Trudy Benjamin allege their neighbor Karen Ward allowed a tenant to live in a tiny home parked behind her Northeast Portland property without properly connecting the unit to the city sewer system.
The lawsuit claims the tiny home, next to the Benjamins; property line on Northeast San Rafael Street, used a chemical toilet whose odors “blanketed” the plaintiffs’ yard and at time seeped into their home…