Woman sues neighbor over basketball hoop in driveway, MN lawsuit says
.png "A Minnesota woman is suing her neighbor after she says a basketball hoop is too close to her property line.")
A Minnesota woman is suing after she says her neighbor’s basketball hoop is located “too close” to her property line.
The civil case dates back to January 2025 after the woman filed an appeal with the St. Louis Park City Board of Zoning Appeals, according to court documents.
A St. Louis Park city representative told McClatchy News the city does not comment on pending litigation.
In the summer of 2024, Julia Ramos reported that a basketball hoop on her neighbor’s property was too close to her property line, according to court records.
City staff went to the home to locate the property line and in fact determined that the basketball hoop was “too close,” court records said.
Ramos said a basketball traveled onto her property on two occasions and her neighbor’s child went onto her property to get it, court records said. She said the child “darted” into her yard running through her driveway, which is a safety hazard because she could have been backing out of her garage. Her neighbors have two children, per court documents.
She also said in addition to fearing for the children’s safety, she fears she could be “hit by a flying ball,” according to court records.
The woman’s neighbors, Lilly Moeding and her husband, proposed to move the hoop farther back from the lot line and city officials determined the new location was sufficient, court records said. So the hoop was moved to sit five feet away from the property line.
However, the woman challenged that the new location was still too close and didn’t meet the requirements set forth by the St. Louis Park zoning code and a public hearing was held. City officials ruled against the woman and upheld that the second location was OK, court records said.
The woman appealed that ruling and the city council held a public hearing in which they also upheld that the second location met requirements.
“I have lost so much sleep over this. It’s been so stressful. I still honestly can’t wrap my brain around it,” Moeding told KMSP
But Ramos said the city got the measurements wrong.
She said in court records that a city employee misread the zoning code and determined that a “basketball hoop” needed to be five feet from a property line. However, the code actually states that a “sport court” must be five feet from the property line, according to court records.
A sport court measures from “the edge of the activity specific surface area” and must allow three feet of surface behind a basketball hoop, the court documents said. This would mean the basketball hoop must be a total of eight feet from the property line, Ramos outlines in court records.
Moeding said on a GoFundMe page that the hoop is “100% compliant with all city and zoning regulations.”
“After many long, hard conversations, we realized this isn’t just about a basketball hoop. It’s about teaching our boys that when faced with an injustice, you don’t back down. It’s about standing up for what’s right - even when it’s uncomfortable, even when the odds feel stacked against you,” Moeding said on the GoFundMe page.
Ramos has also filed a motion for a temporary injunction which, if approved, would prevent the children from using the basketball court in their own driveway due to the possibility of a ball falling onto her property, according to court records.
The court document said it would be a safety hazard if the children were “darting” through her property, a nuisance and it would interfere with her “quiet enjoyment of her property.”
