Neighbor Throws Cigarette From Upstairs, Outrage Over What It Ruins Below

Thousands of Reddit users are fuming over a viral post that shows the aftermath of a neighbor’s act that has been labeled a fire hazard, a personal violation, and an open invitation for legal trouble.

The photo, captioned “My neighbor tossed a cigarette from upstairs and it burned a hole in my hoodie,” shows a lit cigarette lodged in a burgundy sweater, its fabric singed and smoking.

Uploaded to Reddit on August 4, the post has since racked up over 61,000 upvotes, and the comment section has exploded with nearly 2,000 responses at the time of writing.

The original poster who goes by htailuat detailed what happened in the comments: “What I did when I found out: I went over right away, but they pretended they weren’t home.

“So I printed out a note with the photos, called out the fire hazard and told them to never even think about doing it again. I left one copy on their doormat, another on the building noticeboard. I’m also looping in the house manager tomorrow. When I run into the neighbor, I’ll confront them directly.”

Could This Be Grounds for a Lawsuit?

It’s unclear where the Reddit user is based, but Newsweek spoke to Parham Nikfarjam, a Senior Trial Attorney at J&Y Law Firm dedicated to representing Plaintiffs in all types of personal injury cases throughout California.

He offered legal perspective on what recourse the hoodie’s owner might have if based in California.

“Tossing a lit cigarette onto someone else’s property could be considered littering, yes. It could also qualify as trespassing, which would open the door to a civil claim. When there’s physical damage from a burn or prolonged smoke exposure, tenants could try to recover cleaning or replacement costs as part of the lawsuit.

“This kind of behavior might not meet the criteria for criminal harassment, although it may if you can prove that the behavior is part of a larger pattern, and there was negligence in allowing it to continue.

“I’d say it qualifies for antisocial behavior at the very least. In a lot of apartment complexes, tossing a cigarette butt could violate Homeowners Association rules (HOA) rules. My advice is to document everything just in case, report it to your property manager, and if the behavior continues, consult a local attorney. That’s when having proof can make all the difference.

Online Outrage

Commenters didn’t hold back and the post has received almost 2,000.

“This is highly infuriating!!” said one commenter with 10,000 upvotes and another called described the neighbor as “inconsiderate.”

Another shared: “I’m a smoker. I don’t toss my butts willy nilly, but if I had done this I would feel terrible and insist on buying him a new one.”

A third chimed in: “Used to be a heavy smoker, but quit about 15 years ago. I was always mindful of where my butts went. Either snipe the cherry and toss it the trash, or don’t a butt can somewhere nearby. That s*** isn’t hard to do… I always kind of looked at the guys who would just throw them all willy nilly as kinda trashy. Especially when you’re somewhere higher up, for reasons like what’s in the OP.”

Newsweek reached out to u/htailuat for comment. We could not verify the details of the case.