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A Southwest Portland woman is suing Snoop Dogg's uncle for $90,000 after the man allegedly drove her out of her home with noxious smoke from a barbecue joint in Johns Landing.
In a lawsuit filed Jan. 31 in Multnomah County Circuit Court, Gerriann Fox claims she's been forced at times to abandon her $294,000 row house because of smoke pouring out of Reo's Ribs. The restaurant opened last April in a strip mall on Southwest Macadam Avenue.
Reo's Ribs is co-owned by Reo Varnado, an uncle of rapper Snoop Dogg. The Oregonian wrote last year about neighbors' complaints over smoke from the Mississippi-style eatery. The story quotes Fox, whose house is next to the restaurant.
"The smoke from Reo's Ribs has been so significant that it has set off smoke alarms inside one or more of the neighboring homes," Fox's lawsuit says. "The smoke has also caused [Fox] to suffer coughing, headaches, allergy-type symptoms, decreased lung capacity, and irritation of the eyes, nose, throat and lungs."
The suit claims Fox has had to leave her house on the advice of doctors, that the value of her home has been diminished, and that she will be forced to install "expensive air-cleaning devices."
Varnado suggested in The Oregonian story that neighbors' complaints about his business may be race-based. Varnado and his business partner, Myra Girod—who is also named in the lawsuit—did not return a phone call Friday seeking comment.
Also named in the suit are Brad and George Nase, the father and son who own the Macadam Market strip mall where Reo's Ribs is located. Brad Nase tells WW the restaurant owners installed smokestacks and other equipment last summer to mitigate the smoke. Nase says complaints from neighbors ceased after that work was done.
"They spent a lot of time and money on it," Nase says. "If there's something else we need to do, we'll work on it."
The suit, filed by Portland lawyer Kenneth Dobson, seeks $55,000 in economic damages plus $35,000 for pain and suffering.
WWeek 2015