A San Jose jury has awarded $8 million to the family of a 14-year-old boy with autism after his mother countersued a neighbor who claimed the teen's noises tanked her property value and caused her emotional distress. Serena Arvayo and her son, known as Zeke, say the neighbor's lawsuit branded Zeke a nuisance, a label that reshaped years of their lives before a courtroom finally handed them vindication.
Zeke has Level 3 autism, a severe form of the disorder that can sometimes involve loud grunting, according to NBC Bay Area. Arvayo has said her son requires very high support needs, usually meaning full-time care with dressing, bathing, toileting, and safety. The neighbor sued the family, alleging that Zeke's noises were driving down her property value and causing her emotional distress, and Arvayo then countersued; both lawsuits went to trial together before the same jury, which ultimately sided with the Arvayo family.
Earlier reporting from the station's sister outlet, Telemundo Área de la Bahía, also confirmed the $8 million jury award. A separate account identified the child as 11 years old at the time, a detail that conflicts with the station's current reporting that Zeke is now 14; both figures appear in available coverage without a clear reconciliation.
A Dispute That Pushed a Family Out of Their Home
The conflict traces back years before the verdict. Zeke and his mother had been living with Arvayo's father in a San Jose home when the friction with the neighbor began, and the family eventually moved out of that rental home so as not to cause further problems, the same NBC report notes. Arvayo said the word nuisance, the label the neighbor used for her son, traumatized the family.
“That's a word the family says traumatized them,” the station's report states, describing the toll the lawsuit took before the countersuit even reached a jury. Arvayo has said that calling an autistic individual a nuisance was deeply hurtful, and that the family cannot simply live anywhere — she said they avoid apartments because sharing walls with neighbors is difficult given Zeke's needs.
What the Jury Verdict Means to the Family
Arvayo said the verdict gave her son his humanity back and that he was represented with dignity in court, dignity she said he deserved all along. She has said she tells neighbors to bring any concerns directly to her rather than escalate conflicts the way this one did.
Attorney Missy Cornejo said the jury was sending a message about empathy, compassion, and civility. Attorney Ron Rossi said people who engage in bad behavior may ultimately face consequences for it. Attorney Elizabeth Hansen, representing the family, called the original case against them completely outrageous, saying Zeke was innocently playing in the backyard and making joyful noise. Messages to the plaintiff's lawyer seeking comment were not returned, according to the same NBC Bay Area account.
Legal Standards Behind Nuisance Claims
Nuisance lawsuits like the one filed against the Arvayo family rest on California's civil code. Under Cal. Civil Code § 3479, conduct can be deemed a nuisance if it is injurious to health, indecent or offensive to the senses, or interferes with the comfortable enjoyment of life or property. A related statute, California Civil Code section 3480, defines a public nuisance specifically as one affecting an entire community or a considerable number of people, even if the degree of harm varies among them.
Disputes pitting neighbors against families of children with autism are not unheard of in Silicon Valley. A 2015 case covered by The Washington Post involved Vidyut Gopal and his wife, Parul, who were sued by two neighboring families alleging that their autistic son's behavior amounted to a public nuisance. That case, like the Arvayo family's, centered on whether ordinary behaviors tied to a disability could be treated as legal harm to neighbors.
Looking Ahead After the Verdict
For now, the Arvayo family says they hope Zeke's case has given other children on the autism spectrum a voice. The jury's $8 million award closes out a legal fight that began with a noise complaint and ended with a mother saying her son was finally treated with the dignity he deserved.
