From Oberholzer v. Galapo, which was decided two months ago by the Pennsylvania intermediate appellate court (Judge Carolyn Nichols, joined by Judges Victor Stabile and James Gardner Colins) but just popped up for me on a Westlaw query:
Appellants Simon and Toby Galapo (individually, Appellant Husband and Appellant Wife) appeal from the judgment entered in favor of Appellees Frederick E. Oberholzer, Jr., and Denise L. Oberholzer (individually, Appellee Husband and Appellee Wife)…. [T]he backyards of the parties' respective properties abut each other and are separated by a creek. In November 2014, Appellants allegedly began landscaping their yard during the evening hours in violation of a township noise ordinance. Appellees eventually complained to the township and the evening noises temporarily ceased.
On November 22, 2014, Appellant Husband confronted Appellees about a resurveyed property line. During the ensuing argument, Appellant Husband alleged that Appellee Wife called him a "f***ing Jew." Appellants subsequently filed a police report, but it was determined that no further police action was warranted.
Starting in June 2015, Appellants erected signs on their property, which included primarily anti-hate and anti-racist statements. Appellants' signs contained the following statements:
- No Place 4 Racism
- Hitler Eichmann Racists
- Racists: the true enemies of FREEDOM
- No Trespassing - Violators Will Be Prosecuted
- Warning! Audio & Video Surveillance On Duty At All Times
- Racism = Ignorant
Never Again
- WWII: 1,500,000 children butchered: Racism
- Look Down on Racism
- Racist Acts will be met with Signs of Defiance
- Racism Against Kids Is Not Strength, It's Predatory
- Woe to the Racists. Woe to the Neighbors
- Got Racism?
- Every Racist Action Must be Met With a Sign of Defiance
- Racism is Self-Hating; "Love thy Neighbor as Thyself"
- Racism - Ignore It and It Won't Go Away
- Racism - The Maximum of Hatred for the Minimum of Reason
- RACISM: It's Like a Virus, It Destroys Societies
- Racists Don't Discriminate Whom They Hate
- Hate Has No Home Here [in multiple languages]
- Every Racist Action Must Have an Opposite and Stronger Reaction
- Quarantine Racism and Society Has a Chance
- Racism Knows No Boundaries
As of June 2016, Appellants posted twenty-three signs on their property, all of which were placed facing towards and in the line of sight of the backyard of Appellees' property.
Appellees sued, and the trial court granted a permanent injunction:
