Glare from stainless-steel chimney cap leads to Supreme Court battle

A neighbor dispute over sunlight reflections from a rotating stainless-steel chimney cap has reached the Czech Supreme Court. A woman from the Kolín area sued her neighbor, claiming the glare disrupted her family’s life and health. Lower courts sided with her, but the Supreme Court overturned the rulings, ordering a new hearing. The key legal question is whether the reflections, considered “indirect emissions,” are excessive and significantly hinder the normal use of the property. The court emphasized that such effects must be evaluated in light of local conditions and proven by expert analysis.