Blakeley v. Gorin

Blakeley and other landowners (plaintiffs) owned a vacant lot next to the Ritz-Carlton hotel and planned to build a hotel-apartment building connected to the Ritz-Carlton by a bridge over a shared alley. Gorin and other neighbors (defendants) owned an apartment building that received light and air through windows facing that alley, which was subject to a decades-old restriction requiring it to stay open. The neighborhood had changed substantially from single-family homes to high-rises since the restriction was created. The trial court found the restriction obsolete and awarded only nominal damages to the defendants; the defendants appealed.