Small Claims Court
Some lawsuits can be settled using a less formal, less expensive setting called Small Claims. All 50 United States have Small Claims Courts, with varying monetary limits.
Small Claims cases cannot be used to get an injunction. In other words, a person cannot ask a judge to have a neighbor turn off a light. However, most states have nuisance laws, and a person can sue another for having a light that qualifies as an illegal nuisance.
If the goal is to have a neighbor or a business turn off or shield their lights, then winning $2,000 in Small Claims may not be very satisfactory because the business would pay the fine, but keep using the nuisance lights. However, with Small Claims cases, multiple people can sue for the same nuisance. This strategy has been used to shut down drug houses where multiple neighbors sued in Small Claims court for the same nuisance.
In general, there are two types of nuisances: Private and Public. A private nuisance is civil matter and one that substantially interferes with a person’s right to enjoyment of their own property. A public nuisance is a criminal matter that affects everyone. Only the government can sue for causing a public nuisance.
For example, a 4000 Kelvin floodlight from a business can be both a public and a private nuisance.
A person may use Small Claims court to file a private nuisance claim against the business owner for violating their right to enjoyment of their property or for impeding their right to free passage on a road. The effort and cost for one person to file a Small Claims nuisance case is not large, but it still may feel like using too much energy just to get one light turned off.
However, since each person who is harmed can sue separately, one person can bring together family members, neighbors, friends and anyone else who has an interest in eliminating the nuisance. Each person may file the same claim, such that the owner of the business might have to pay $2,000 for one nuisance lawsuit, but need to pay $10,000 for five nuisance lawsuits. This strategy offers a powerful incentive for the owner of the light to shield their light, rather than fighting multiple Small Claims lawsuits.
This link has useful information on how to file a nuisance suit. Private Nuisance Civil Suit
Soft Lights attempted this strategy by first contacting the owner of a nuisance light, then by submitting a code violation to the county and then finally sending a second letter to the owner notifying them that they had 10 days to eliminate the nuisance or face multiple Small Claims lawsuits from the members of Soft Lights. The strategy worked, the neighbor turned off the nuisance light, and the need to file a lawsuit was avoided. We plan on using this strategy more going forward.
Luminance
We need a way to describe how much visible light energy enters the eye from a light source. Since the total amount of light entering the eye changes by distance, we also need a way to describe how much light enters the eye regardless of distance. For these purposes, we use the measurement of Luminance.
Luminance is measured in candelas per square meter, also known as “nits”. Luminance basically measures how many candles of light enter your eye when you are standing 1 meter away from the candles.
The light from the sun at the eye has a luminance value of 1.6 million nits, so if you can imagine standing a meter away from 1,600,000 candles, it would be dangerously bright. This is one reason why we don’t look directly at the sun.
The light from a full moon that enters the eye has a luminance value of 2,500 nits. The light from the moon is reflected light from the sun, so the moon’s surface absorbs and redirects much of the sunlight. Even so, a full moon is quite bright.
In this research paper from 2010, the author states that the roadway environment is delivering approximately 1 nit of luminance to the eye, whereas an LED advertising billboard measures 7,000 nits.
The extreme contrast between the perceived brightness of the roadway and the LED billboard exhausts the photoreceptors, eye muscles and brain as they attempt to switch back and forth between brightness levels. Digital Billboard Luminance
This story in LEDs magazine from 2006 states that Lumileds (now Signify) created an LED with a luminance value of 38,000,000 nits which is over 20 times brighter than the sun. These LEDs are now used in vehicle headlights and is one of the reasons why there are so many complaints about the brightness of car headlights. LED Luminance Record Another story about Osram claims a luminance of 200 Mega nits (200,000,000 candela per square meter). LED Headlights Here is one more recent story about 100 Mega nit vehicle headlights. Automotive lighting
What about televisions? Watching a movie at a theater would expose a person to about 50 nits. The latest televisions are 300 to 700 nits, with Sony declaring that they have built a television capable of 10,000 nits.
Somehow all of this does not make sense. If the human biological system is design for a maximum contrast of about 20 to 1, then we should expect that our lighting should not exceed 20 nits in darkness. Yet, televisions are 500 nits, LED billboards are 7,000 nits and car headlights are 100 times brighter than the sun!
Soft Lights is working to get this all figured out and to demand protection from our government leaders to limit lighting to biologically safe levels.
October Advocacy
October 1, 2020: Gilroy, CA – Soft Lights comments were added to the Gilroy 2040 Plan EIR, but our requests were waived off by the city. Gilroy General Plan 2040 EIR. (Soft Lights comments are on page 95). We called city senior planner Cindy McCormick and we discussed light pollution, environmental impact reports and zoning regulations. Soft Lights agreed to drop efforts to have the EIR plan updated and Ms. McCormick agreed to address light pollution issues during the zoning phase. Email: Cindy.McCormick@ci.gilroy.ca.us
October 2, 2020: Hendersonville, North Carolina – News Story – The city council and residents are unhappy with the harshness of 4000K LED lights and are considering installing 3000K. We wrote to the council to urge them to install 1900K. Email: jmiller@cityofhendersonville.org
October 2, 2020: Kendal, Cumbria, England – News Story – The town of Kendal is looking into reducing light pollution. We wrote to encourage them to turn off the lights and protect darkness which will protect health and save money. Email: giles.archibald@gmail.com
October 2, 2020: Kirkwood, Missouri – News Story – Kirkwood residents were upset that a streetlight was not working. The utility company, Ameren, did not want to fix it without getting paid. We wrote to the Kirkwood city council to recommend removing the light in order to reduce costs and that if residents still demanded a light, to install only 1900K or less. Email: griffite@kirkwoodmo.org
October 3, 2020: Albany, New York – News Story – A young resident of Albany has taken on the task of patrolling the streets, looking for non-working streetlights. We applaud this resident’s community involvement! We wrote the town council to ensure that when they install new lights, they use only low color temperature lights, with good shielding and diffusion. Email: dejohnson@albanyny.gov
October 4, 2020: Peru – News Story – A new research study showed that larger amounts of light impacts birds with larger eyes more than birds with smaller eyes and that too much light can overwhelm birds. We wrote a thank you to the author’s of study, as this gives us more evidence in our efforts to protect threatened burrowing owls on Burnt Store Road in Lee County, Florida. Email: iausprey@ufl.edu
October 5, 2020: Charleston, West Virginia – News Story – The Public Service Commission has approved a proposal to switch to LED streetlights. We wrote the remind the commission that darkness is a fundamental resource that must be protected and that any LED lights must be 1900K or less. Email: clane@psc.state.wv.us
October 5, 2020: News Story – In response to an article about mental health, we wrote to the author and the The Sky Center to alert them to the dangers of artificial light at night and the impacts of ALAN on mental health. Email: theskyctr@gmail.com
October 5, 2020: Rocklin, California – Video – The city has installed a sign that emits high energy strobe lights directly into driver’s eyes in the middle of a roundabout. We contacted the California Department of Transportation senior transportation engineer who said that CalTrans does not permit this type of sign on the freeways. He directed me to contact the city of Rocklin to request the documentation that would allow them to install such a sign and also to request proof that this sign was approved by the California Traffic Control Devices Committee.
October 6, 2020: Port Jefferson, New York – News Story – We had previously written to the council to recommend low color temperature lighting. One councilmember replied to us that he agreed and was trying to convince fellow council members, but they weren’t receptive to the thought of protecting darkness. Email: trustee-miller@portjeff.com
October 6, 2020: Everett, Washington – The city recently installed an LED lighting project on a bridge. We feel that the project over-lights the bridge, wastes energy and takes away our freedom to view the sunset naturally. We wrote the council to request that they light only the path where people walk, not the entire structure.
October 6, 2020: Westfield, New Jersey – Video – The town is considering adding bright white lights to shine into the park to keep teenagers from gathering there at night. We wrote the council to tell them that this is a terrible idea that damages darkness and does not provide a positive outlet for teenagers. Email: MayorBrindle@westfieldnj.gov
October 6, 2020: Canberra, Australia – The photo below is not the sun. It is a 4000K LED streetlight shining into a bedroom window in Canberra. Soft Lights received a response from the Deputy Director – General of Transport Canberra telling us that the reasoning for why they use 4000K LED streetlights is basically too complicated for average people to understand. We located the specifications that TCCS uses and found that the Institute of Public Works Engineering Australasia recommends 4000K. Document We responded to TCCS that 4000K causes damage to human health and is not acceptable for outdoor lighting. Email: TCCS.Correspondence@act.gov.au
October 7, 2020: Poughkeepsie, New York – Article – A DJ in New York wrote about how the indoor LED lights are making him sick. We wrote to him to let him know that this is not his imagination and gave advice for how to get the problem solved using low color temperature lights. Email: jason.finkelberg@townsquaremedia.com
October 8, 2020: Honolulu, Hawaii – News Story – Honolulu is planning on installing LED lights. We wrote to remind the council that they are Trustees of the darkness resource and are legally obligated to protect darkness. All lights must use low color temperature and shielding. Email: kcaldwell@honolulu.gov
October 8, 2020: Brooklyn, New York – Video – The image below shows an overlit intersection with pedestrians and car running over two of the pedestrians. We wrote to the Brooklyn council to remind them that bright white lights does not equal safety, but does cause significant harm to human health. Email: slevin@council.nyc.gov
October 10, 2020: Walnut Creek, California – News Story – The article discusses the problem with police responding to mental health calls. A young person in Walnut Creek was shot and killed by the police when social workers could have defused the situation. We wrote to the council, shared our own personal stories, and alerted the council to police use of weaponized LED strobe lights. Email: mayor@walnut-creek.org
October 10, 2020: Torrance, California – Video – The city is performing a Beta test of 5000K LED streetlights. We wrote to remind the council of their legal obligation to protect darkness and to use 1900K or less instead. Email: pfurey@torranceca.gov
October 10, 2020: North Conway, New Hampshire – News Story – The author wrote a story about LED car headlights. We wrote to the newspaper to express our agreement with the author that LED car headlights cause dangerous glare. Email: Margaret@conwaydailysun.com
October 12, 2020: San Diego County, California – Proposal – San Diego County is proposing light pollution regulations. While we applaud the proposal, we are not pleased with their choice of setting 3000K as the maximum color temperature. 3000K is not acceptable for outdoor lighting. Soft Lights provided public comments and recommended to the county commissioners that they reject the current proposal because it lacks input from the medical and scientific community. Email: Rouya.Rasoulzadeh@sdcounty.ca.gov
October 13, 2020: Auburn, California – We wrote to the city council to express our unhappiness with their 4000K LED streetlights that they have recently installed in their old town. We recommended 1900K. Email: adowdincalvillo@auburn.ca.gov
October 14, 2020: International Dark Sky Association – We wrote to the IDA and alerted them to the fact that the only organization that we know of (besides the lighting industry) that disputes the scientific findings about the dangers of blue wavelength light is the Illuminating Engineering Society. We asked the board to disassociate itself from the IES because of their propaganda. Email: kellie@darksky.org
October 14, 2020: Bracknell, England – News Story – A woman complained to the council that the parking lot was too dark. We wrote to the council to remind them that that are Trustees of the darkness resource and cannot simply light up a parking lot because one person is not comfortable with darkness. We also noted to the council that studies show that women feel safer with softer lighting. We recommended that the woman purchase a 2700K or less torch (flashlight) with diffusion and that if the council decides to install any lights, they should be 1900K or less with full shielding and diffusion. Email: clerk@bracknelltowncouncil.gov.uk
October 15, 2020: Bandon, Oregon – The city is allowing the typical high glare LED lights with no restrictions. We wrote to the city council urging them to set strong light pollution restrictions. The photo belows shows on their bare-diode, high color temperature street lights. Email: bandonbakingco@aol.com
October 15, 2020: Lighthouse Cove Inn – Brandon, Oregon – We wrote to the owners, complimenting them on their interior lighting, but asking them to remove or replace the high color temperature outside lights. Email: kelly@lighthousecoveinn.com
October 19, 2020: Port Orford, Oregon – We wrote to the city council urging them to ban the LED billboard at the Rogue Credit Union. Email: claroche@portorford.org
October 19, 2020: Lee County, Florida – News Story – Activists in Lee County, let by www.bslighting.org, are attempting to stop the county commissioners from installing additional high color temperature LED street lights. We wrote to the reporter to show appreciation for the story and copied commissioner Brian Harman. Email: sara.girard@winknews.com
October 20, 2020: Florence, Oregon – We wrote to the city council about a light shining onto a bridge and asked the council to set light pollution regulations. Email: joe.henry@ci.florence.or.us
October 23, 2020: Brooklyn, New York – Video – Multiple people were shot at night. The video shows horrific bright white LED lights everywhere. We wrote to the council to alert them to the fact that these lights are most likely contributing to the violence because people can’t sleep. Email: slevin@council.nyc.gov
October 25, 2020: Twitter – Video – This video shows an overlit street and a speeding car crashing into a utility pole and knocking out the lights. The video is a perfect example why super bright white lights do not make the world a better place.
October 26, 2020: Yreka, California – Motel 6 is using LED lights in excess of 5000 Kelvin. These lights damage and pollute the darkness, cause eye pain and disrupt sleep. We wrote to Motel 6 to request that we work together to develop a lighting plan that is safe for humans and the environment and good for business. Email: guestrelations@g6reservations.com
October 26, 2020: Park City, Utah – News Article – Park City is considering updating their lighting codes. While this is good news, we wrote to Park City to let them know that 3000K is unacceptably high and that outdoor lights should range from 1900K for streetlights to 2700K for a small area of businesses. Email: rebecca.ward@parkcity.org
October 28, 2020: American Academy of Ophthalmology – Video – The video was made by a company called Essilor in 2016. They make lenses. The video feels like a marketing video, but they clearly talked about “cell death” from blue wavelength light. We wrote to the AAO asking them why the AAO doesn’t publicly discuss the dangers of blue wavelength light.
October 30, 2020: New Hampshire – Report – This report by the Commission to Study the Environmental and Health Effects of Evolving 5G Technology concludes that the electromagnetic spectrum is underregulated and that the agencies assigned to regulate these waves are “captured” agencies, meaning that the industry drives the decision making. The report also concludes that there are significant health risks related to electromagnetic radiation.