Personal drones typically include high-quality cameras, which can be powerful enough to allow a snooping neighbor to hover over your property and see people and activities that the neighbor shouldn’t be seeing.
This has been a primary concern among the few states to pass drone legislation so far, and is likely to be addressed by additional states’ new laws.
Perhaps you have reason to believe that your neighbor’s drone isn’t just innocently flying, but is actually using a camera to record your activities.
Even without drone-specific legislation, you should remember that you have a cause of action against your neighbor for the common law tort of invasion of privacy.
In court, you would be able to ask the judge for a temporary restraining order and injunction- essentially, a court order directing your neighbor not to fly the drone.
A difficulty with suing a neighbor under any of these trespass or nuisance theories is that your damages (the amount of money a court could award you) are probably nominal.
Unlike in a case where you were suing for breach of contract or property destruction, here it would be difficult to show a great deal of quantifiable financial harm.
As with most neighbor disputes, you are likely better off resolving this between the two of you, or with a mediator, than going to court. But drones present a number of troubling legal issues that courts will increasingly be called upon to resolve.
The Federal Aviation Administration (FAA), the agency tasked with oversight of commercial and recreational flight, states that flying drones ‘in a reckless manner is a violation of Federal law and FAA regulations and could result in criminal action.’
It further advises that you call local law enforcement if you observe a drone being flown in a way that could be dangerous to people or other aircraft.
FAA regulations also prohibit drones flying above 400 feet, given that they could interfere with flights.
While this might not be much assistance to you if you see a drone outside your window, the FAA’s increased attention to drone regulation should also act as a deterrent against un-neighborly behavior.
