Neighboring Property Damage Due to Construction Vibration and Soil Instability

A property owner brought an action against a neighbor claiming that the latter's construction of a wall on the boundary line, while respecting the local building regulations regarding height and alignment, nonetheless caused damage to the owner's adjoining retaining wall due to vibrations during excavation and that the work deprived the owner's land of necessary support. The court rejected the appeal, affirming that the right to build on one's own land, even when respecting regulatory limits, is not absolute and entails an obligation to ensure that such construction does not cause damage to the neighbor's property, but finding that the lower court correctly determined, based on the evidence, that the neighbor had taken all necessary precautions to prevent damage and that the damage to the retaining wall was attributable to the natural instability of the soil rather than the construction work itself.