A lawsuit filed by a Johnson County mayor and his wife targeting Mission Hills Country Club’s new pickleball courts appears to have been settled.
Last year, Mission Woods Mayor Darrell Franklin and his wife Laurie filed the lawsuit seeking a court order to stop play at the club’s several converted pickleball courts, which are near the Franklins’ residence.
Now, based on county court records online, it seems that the lawsuit has been dropped.
County records show the case was dismissed in May
- A “joint stipulation of dismissal” was reached on May 16, according to county court records.
- That canceled a jury trial, which was scheduled to begin May 15, according to an online docket of the case.
- Attorneys representing the Franklins declined to comment for this story.
- Attorneys representing Mission Hills Country Club did not respond to the Post’s request for comment.
The suit alleged pickleball noise caused Franklins “emotional distress”
- The couple lives on Mission Woods Road just north of the country club, at 5400 Mission Drive.
- The lawsuit stated the club converted its outdoor tennis courts into four pickleball courts — less than 200 feet from the Franklins’ home — and that the noise created by the game, which uses hard paddles, disrupted their “tranquil and peaceful environment.”
- The club in its response filing denied a number of the Franklins’ allegations, including the Franklins’ contention that pickleball was any “louder, more intrusive or obnoxious” than tennis.
- The club in its response also rejected the notion that it had created a nuisance and was engaged “in willful wanton and intentional conduct knowing it is injuring.”
Pickleball noise is a growing annoyance nationwide
- People across the U.S. are apparently fed up with pickleball noise, with many others drafting petitions or, like the Franklins, filing lawsuits to try to stop games being played near where they live.
- At the same time, pickleball has exploded in popularity the past few years — including in Johnson County, with new private and public pickleball courts opening up in several places.
- NPR recently profiled a retired engineer who is researching ways to reduce pickleball noise and has founded a consulting firm to advise people on how to keep down the constant and erratic thwacking sound of the paddles hitting the hard plastic ball.
Go deeper: New rankings say Overland Park is most ‘pickleball-obsessed’ city in U.S.
