Texas Neighbors Battle Over Loud Music and a Playhouse
Kelly Counts told ABC News she sued when her children couldn't play outside.
— -- Two next-door neighbors in Plano, Texas, are taking their dispute over music and a children's playhouse to court.
Kelly Counts, a mother of four children under the age of 10, sued her neighbors, Irving and Anita Ward, saying the Wards continued to play loud music with "obscene" lyrics, despite her requests that they turn it down.
According to the suit filed by Counts, the Wards, who have been living in their home since 2003, "repeatedly played music at an unacceptable volume level with lyrics, which are vulgar, obscene and inappropriate for children ... to hear."
Counts claims that the Wards played the music loudly last summer from June until September, which prevented her children from playing outside. She told ABC News she decided to file a suit after Irving Ward "slammed the door" and "stopped answering the door."
"We're neighbors and I understand we disagree on this but let's at least be neighborly," Counts said.
In December, the Wards had filed their own suit against both Kelly Counts and her husband, Andrew, who have been living next door since 2014. In the suit, the Wards claim the Counts' playhouse for their four children is "unreasonably close to the Ward's property" in a side yard and is "unreasonably loud, noisy, annoying and disruptive to the Wards quality of life."
"Up until the time the Counts purchased their property, the Wards enjoyed a peaceful, quiet and tranquil quality of life at their residence," the Wards' suit said.
And although the Wards' suit claims the playhouse doesn't comply with guidelines set forth by the Stoney Hollow Homeowners Association, the association said it approved the playhouse. It was also approved by Plano, according to a letter the city's property standards specialist, Joshua Osburn, sent to Kelly Counts.
ABC News reached out to an attorney for the Wards, but has not received a response.
Kelly Counts said the Wards' suit "feels like retaliation."
Still, she said her legal battle is necessary, especially since her children are home-schooled and called their playtime "vitally important."
"Kids are full of energy. So to enable them to get out those wiggles during the day makes their school day better," she said.
Both sides are seeking unspecified damages. A hearing is scheduled for later this month in Collin County Court.
