Oh well,
During the Funky 544 trial, the defendants' expert witness on sound, Eric Zwerling, testified that he took sound measurements inside Yokum's house and that music from the club could not be heard when the air-conditioner was turned on and was "inaudible to somewhat audible" when it was turned off.I'm all for maintaining the French Quarter as a liveable neighborhood. I'm also certain these guys can afford to work with their neighbors and take steps to make their living situation commensurate with the realities of that neighborhood.
The plaintiffs' sound expert, Arno Bommer, did not take measurements inside the house and their attorney didn't produce any evidence that Funky 544 had been cited by the city for noise violations, Halpern said.
There are so many other sources of sound in the 700 block of Toulouse Street including street musicians, second lines, traffic, car stereos, large crowds and dozens of other bars and nightclubs that it is impossible to blame one business and ask it to pay millions of dollars in damages, Halpern said.
"Our guys did everything they could to be good neighbors and they do operate in an entertainment district," he said. "(Yokum and Anderson) live just 170 steps from Bourbon Street. We suggested they do something to their house to mitigate the noise but they said they want it to remain museum quality."
But they would prefer to live in a museum.
The club operators clearly acted in good faith to respond to the complaint: "added sound-dampening insulation and permanently closed the door that faces
ReplyDeleteToulouse Street, sealing it in with plexiglass, according to court
documents filed by the defense. He also installed a new sound system
that eliminates the use of on-stage amplifiers and a sound monitor that
alerts managers..." Even accounting for the agenda of the anti-noise faction that Stuart represents, the main motive is also financial, for the Stuart and Stag law firm.