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Update: Dad Who Shot Down Drone is Getting Sued. Who Owns the Skies?
from the who-didn't-see-that-coming? dept.
El Reg reports [theregister.co.uk]
Back in June, 47-year-old William Merideth shot down [theregister.co.uk] the camera-carrying $1,800 quadrocopter with a shotgun while it was hovering over his house in Hillview, Kentucky, claiming that he feared it was snooping on his kids.
The owner of the drone, neighbor David Boggs, was unsurprisingly not happy about the situation and confronted Merideth, who then threatened him with a handgun. The police were called and Merideth was arrested for firing a shotgun within city limits, then later charged with criminal mischief and wanton endangerment.
When the case went to court, however, the judge heard from eye witnesses who said the drone was below the tree line when it was shot, and he dismissed the case [theregister.co.uk], saying, "he had a right to shoot at this drone." Owner Boggs, who was hoping to get the cost of his machine out of the case, said he would consider suing Merideth and that's exactly what he has done, filing case 3:16-cv-00006 [regmedia.co.uk] [PDF] this week asking for $1,500 to cover the drone plus court costs.
What is interesting about the case, however, is the fact that it may help decide a critical legal question: who actually owns the space above your property?
Merideth claims that the drone was trespassing on his property, and the fact that he managed to shoot the drone down with his shotgun highlights the fact that it was relatively close to the ground.
[...]In the only federally-decided case--carried out by the Supreme Court in 1946--it was agreed that 83 feet was the distance under which a landowner can claim jurisdiction.
[...]Why 83 feet? That was due to the very specific details of the case. Farmer Thomas Lee Causby, of Greensboro, North Carolina sued the government for disturbing him and his chickens by flying too low across his land. He claimed the noise from military plans resulted in the death of many of his animals (they flew into the walls in fright at the noise) and he was forced to abandon his business. He sued for compensation saying the government had effectively confiscated his property without compensation.
TFA also talks about a 400-foot rule and a 500-foot rule.
Previous: Update: Dad Who Shot "Snooping Vid Drone" Out of the Sky is Cleared of Charges [soylentnews.org]
Man Arrested for Shooting Down Drone Flying Over His Property [soylentnews.org]
