It was soon after Paul Schambs starting dating and fell for Mary Lynne Newsome that he actualized his longtime idea of building a wood-fired pizza oven in his backyard. After some months of planning, Schambs completed the project in May 2017. Soon after the build the Cleveland couple began hosting informal pop-ups for neighbors at the pizza oven. Neighbors loved it. Well, not all the neighbors.
… In July 2021 Brooks and Mika Jones filed a 17-page complaint claiming the fumes from Schamb’s pizza oven are a public nuisance and have caused them “significant physical discomfort and emotional distress.” The case is now in court.
… The Joneses claim that the oven’s smoke and fumes — “visibly white, opaque and billowing” — have led to a range of symptoms, including, “coughing, sore throat, phlegm, headaches, burning eyes, dizziness, lightheadedness, fogginess, heart palpitations and sore lungs; the effects of the smoke and fumes last for a few days. Smoke odors linger on … clothing and hair and on their pets’ fur.”
… The complaint says that when the Joneses requested that the defendants use a chimney extension, they refused because the chimney extension “would affect the quality of the pizza.”
… Attempts to mediate a resolution have failed.
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