Circuit Court Judge Chad Schmucker ruled that Richard and Julia Cady cannot use the wood boiler, which he believes was a nuisance and health hazard to neighbors.
The Cadys represented themselves in the civil trial in which they were sued by the Jackson County Health Department.
Wood boilers, increasingly popular in rural areas as energy costs rise, transfer heat through water lines from an outside structure to a home for both space and water heating.
The judge also prohibited Cady from incinerating trash, debris and other materials in backyard burn barrels.
Schmucker said the Cadys did not break any laws and that the boiler was properly installed but produces smoke, which can be a nuisance to neighbors.
Richard Soldano, 53, testified he started having headaches in 2003, before Cady built his home, because Cady frequently burned garbage in barrels on his property.
Since then, he's had chest pain and trouble breathing after being outside when the wood boiler is operating.
Soldano's wife has had a chronic cough, and Soldano said he has asthma and a chronic lung condition. Doctors have attributed the conditions to smoke inhalation and warned against the dangers of breathing smoke.
``We are very pleased. It is what we asked the court to do,'' said Bob Grover, the lawyer for the health department. ``I hope it finally resolves problems between neighbors that have been going on for five to six years. I am not optimistic, but hopeful.''
-- Reporter Danielle Quisenberry contributed to this report.
http://www.mlive.com/news/citpat/index.ssf?/base/news-28/1243073104278630.xml&coll=3
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