Pokémon Go Is Ruining Our Lives, Michigan Couple Say in Lawsuit

ST. CLAIR SHORES, MI — Tensions between Pokémon Go players and the public have been mounting in St. Clair Shores since the smartphone-enabled scavenger hunt took the world by storm in July, and now a local couple has filed a class action lawsuit against the gamemaker in federal court in San Francisco.

Plaintiffs Scott Dodich and Jayme Gotts-Dodich live near Wahby Park, which has about a dozen Pokéstops and Pokémon gyms — GPS coordinates where gamers can capture the virtual creatures. They’ve complained to police, who ticketed a handful of gamers who were playing in the park after hours.

They say players of the game have trampled their landscaping, peeked into the windows of their vehicles, cussed them out and generally robbed them of their sense of security, according to media reports.

The couple say they used an online form and sent emails asking Niantic, which developed the game with Nintendo, to remove the Pokéstops and gyms from the park, but the company responded only with an auto-generated reply thanking them for their feedback, Bloomberg reported.

When the company didn’t take any action, Dodich and Gotts-Dodich decided to press the matter in court.

“Nobody gets sleep anymore," the lawsuit claims. "How is this acceptable? ... They hang out on our lawns, trample landscaping, look in vehicles ... We don't feel safe ... I don't feel safe sitting on our porch.”

In one instance, Gotts-Dodich was told to “shut up or else” when she asked a player to leave her property.

The lawsuit claims that the developers have made millions of dollars off the game while at the same time creating a nuisance for those who live near the Pokéstops and Pokégyms. The developers have already made more than $35 million on the game, which sets users off on a chase to find the virtual creatures in real- world locations like Wahby Park.

➤ Pokémon Go Players Arrested for After-Hours Play at Park

➤ Go Away, Pokémon Go, Some in St. Clair Shores Say

The plaintiffs are asking for an injunction to stop the game developers from designating GPS coordinates on or near private properties without the consent of owners. They also ask the game’s developers to share profits with the residents whose yards and streets have contributed to the success of the game.

They are seeking class action status to represent other U.S. property owners whose quality of life has been diminished by the game.

The lawsuit is the second filed by the Los Angeles-based law firm Pomerantz LLP. Earlier this month, Orange, New Jersey, resident Jeffrey Marder claimed in a class action lawsuit filed Friday in the U.S. District Court for the Northern District of California, that beleaguered property owners across the nation are being harassed by people seeking Pokéstops and Pokémon gyms, which were allegedly placed on private property without the owners’ consent.

Image: Noah Cloud, via Flickr / Creative Commons