Business Law 241

Remember, the primary answer I'm looking for is based in contract law; however, you are also free to explore whatever other remedies and legal theories you think apply. Good luck!!

FACTS:

In 1951, the United States Army acquired and developed Fort Boom-Boom in a then mostly rural area of Virginia. The primary mission of Fort Boom-Boom was to train Army soldiers for combat. In that regard, the soldiers were exposed to rapid small caliber gun fire, cannon fire, and various exploding ordnance. Since the surrounding area was mostly farm land, the Army took no steps with respect to noise attenuation; however, the noise level generated from the training exercises on the Fort were never higher than between -10 to zero decibels, about the level generated by a loud stereo system.

Later, in 1980, the owner of an adjacent farm decided to develop approximately 500 acres into 100 lots and applied to the local county for subdivision approval. Notice of the proposed subdivision was sent to all of the adjoining landowners including Fort Boom-Boom in accordance with the county's subdivision ordinance and no objection was presented. Thereafter, the subdivision was approved and the lots were developed. Over the following years, the lots were sold to individual purchasers and about half of the lots now have homes built on them ranging in value from $250,000 to over $1.0 Mil.

Recently, the U.S. Army, as part of the Base Realignment and Closure program (BRAC), has decided to relocate the mission of exploding much larger ordnance to Fort Boom-Boom, which mission is expected to generate noise levels in excess of 30 to 40 decibels, about the noise experienced by standing about ten feet away from an F-18 fighter jet on takeoff!! The expected effect of this level of noise on the homes in the subdivision would include window breakage, foundation damage, and possible damage to well water delivery systems. Although there are several suitable alternative locations for the Army to move this particular mission, the Army has stated that no such plans have been made to relocate the mission, which is slated to begin in 2019.

The residents have come to you as their attorney and asked you to take what legal steps may be available to prevent the Army from going forward with their intended use of Fort Boom-Boom. What strategies could you employ to help the residents of the subdivision?? Please identify such strategies and explain the basis for employing them.