DeNardo v. Corneloup

In DeNardo v. Corneloup, 163 P.3d 956, 958-59 (Alaska 2007), for instance, a tenant in an apartment building sued another tenant in the building and the landlord for "(1) breach of the covenant of quiet enjoyment, (2) breach of the covenant of habitability, (3) negligence, (4) trespass, (5) battery, (6) nuisance, and (7) retaliatory eviction." The neighboring tenant smoked and the tenant who filed the lawsuit claimed he suffered "anxiety, nausea, headaches, dizziness, sleeplessness, and general ill feeling" in addition to "humiliation" and "distress" because of his exposure to secondhand smoke. Id. at 958. The trial court granted the defendant's summary judgment and the appellate court affirmed. Id. at 957-58. The appellate court explained that just because secondhand smoke may be a health hazard, it is not a nuisance per se. Id. at 961. The court pointed out that an Alaska statute banning smoking in schools also exempts private residences that are in the same buildings as schools. Id. The court said it was unwilling to find smoking to be a nuisance "absent either a provision in the rental agreement or a statute or municipal ordinance prohibiting smoking or declaring smoke a nuisance in a multi-party residence." Id.