Feeding the ducks could cost this couple R4.2-million?!
Five little ducks went swimming one day... and this couple got slapped with a lawsuit the next.
Usually, feeding ducks is a calming and rewarding act. But not for a couple in Texas! They have been hit by a lawsuit for doing so.
"On June 11, homeowners George and Kathleen Rowe were hit with a $250,000 (R4.2 million) lawsuit after neighbours complained that ducks were destroying their gardens and defecating on their property, the Houston Chronicle reported." (Business Insider)
Sounds a bit harsh?
However, on the other side of things, we do know how serious 'homeowners associations' and 'community rules' can get.
The lawsuit was filed by the Lakeland Homeowners Association and "claims the Lowes broke community rules and engaged in activities that cause "unclean, unhealthy, or untidy" conditions, that could cause "nuisance" in common areas and that could "disturb or destroy vegetation, wildlife, wetlands, or air quality." (Business Insider)
Kathleen Rowe has been targeted specifically in the lawsuit where it states that she continually defied warnings to not feed the ducks, as it is prohibited.
But Kathleen shared that upon moving into the neighbourhood, she and her husband would watch the ducks from their porch.
"She felt bad for the domesticated waterfowl, who she imagined grew in an incubator and did not know how to survive in the wild on their own. 'They've never had a mother,' Kathleen Rowe told the Chronicle. 'I feel like I'm just stepping in.'" (Business Insider)
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If the couple lose the case they are required to pay $250,000 (R4.2-million) in fees.
And if they are unable to raise the money, then the Homeowners Association will try to foreclose on their home.
Harsh is the closest word we can think of here, but that's why they say, don't mess with the HOA!
Image Courtesy of Pexels Website