Neighbors Sue Family Who Gained Fame Feeding Crows

Say they're now plagued by constant cawing, feces, rats
By Jenn Gidman,  Newser Staff
Posted Aug 14, 2015 1:56 PM CDT

A sweet BBC story in February documented the relationship between 8-year-old Gabi Mann of Seattle and her close bond with the crows in her neighborhood: Since 2013, she'd been feeding them daily, sometimes even offering them her own lunch, then collecting the "gifts" they'd bring back for her in return. But Gabi's Portage Bay neighbors describe something else entirely: a house of horrors that attracts up to 100 cawing crows, seagulls, and pigeons at a time that scatter bird droppings, feathers, dirt, and peanut shells all over the neighborhood and attract rats, the Seattle Times reports. Now at least two neighbors have joined together in a $200,000 suit against Gabi's parents, Lisa and Gary Mann—and other neighbors are considering joining the suit, since they say they've tried talking to the Manns to no avail.

One of the neighbors' major beefs: The Manns are framing it as a little girl who's just feeding birds. Not so, the lawyer for the two suing homeowners tells KIRO 7. "The scope and scale of the feeding is not the work of a minor child," she says. "The mother, Lisa Mann, is responsible for the vast majority of [it]. Gary and Lisa Mann have also constructed extraordinarily large feeding stations and hired employees to help carry out the feedings ... and related activities, [which] have run nearly every day, year-round, from the morning hours to as late as midnight." The suit also notes the peanut shell problem—an issue for residents with severe allergies, the Times notes. A trial date has been set, but it's not till Aug. 6, 2016. "My clients hope the feeding will stop before then," the lawyer tells the paper. (There might be something to Gabi's bond with the crows after all.)

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