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Blowin’ in the Wind: Bob Dylan Faces Nuisance Complaint Over Smelly Toilet in Yard

240px-bob_dylan_barcelonaWhat is Blowin’ in the Wind at Bob Dylan’s Malibu home ain’t justice. Dylan’s neighbors are complaining that a portable toilet Dylan, 67, has in his yard stinks to high heavens and, when the ocean winds blow, has forced them to abandon parts of their homes. Dylan has not responded to complaints for six months over the nuisance.


The neighbors are irate over Dylan’s lack of concern or response.

Yes, n how many times can a man turn his head,
Pretending he just doesn’t see?
The answer, my friend, is blowin in the wind,

David Emminger, his neighbor, complains that “It’s a scandal — ‘Mr. Civil Rights’ is killing our civil rights.” He and his wife installed five industrial-sized fans in their frontyard to blow the odor back at Dylan, but it proved unsuccessful. Both Cindy Emminger and her 8-year-old son say that they have become sickened by the odor.

A city inspector was reportedly turned away by Dylan’s security staff and the inspector was allegedly told that they were going to sue the city for his trespass. The security staff uses the toilet.

This is not the first time that Dylan’s outhouse has been cited. In 1989, the safety inspectors noted the toilet was not being accessible for the handicapped. According to the L.A. Times, “the singer bypassed accessibility requirements by promising, in writing, that he “would not hire any handicapped persons” to work in it.” It is not clear if such a promise not to hire disabled people is valid after the enactment of The Americans with Disabilities Act of 1990 — just months after the promise was made. It seems akin to getting out of a problem of segregated bathrooms by simply saying that you will not hire minorities.

The most obvious step is to sue for nuisance. “Privies” have long been recognized as a valid basis for nuisance. Indeed, in the famous Rylands v. Fletcher case, the English courts recognized that it was a basis for strict liability in that country. Clearly, the use and enjoyment of the Emminger’s property is being denied.

If the Emminger’s are looking for a protest song, this might do:

How many roads must a man walk down
Before you call him a man?
Yes, n how many seas must a white dove sail
Before she sleeps in the sand?
Yes, n how many times must the cannon balls fly
Before they’re forever banned?
The answer, my friend, is blowin in the wind,
The answer is blowin in the wind.

How many times must a man look up
Before he can see the sky?
Yes, n how many ears must one man have
Before he can hear people cry?
Yes, n how many deaths will it take till he knows
That too many people have died?
The answer, my friend, is blowin in the wind,
The answer is blowin in the wind.

How many years can a mountain exist
Before its washed to the sea?
Yes, n how many years can some people exist
Before theyre allowed to be free?
Yes, n how many times can a man turn his head,
Pretending he just doesnt see?
The answer, my friend, is blowin in the wind,
The answer is blowin in the wind.

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