Paddock Park’s pickleball courts
MEDIA – Pickleball courts in a Delaware County town are a nuisance, says a lawsuit recently filed by couples tired of the noise and traffic they cause.
Six plaintiffs from the Havertown section of Haverford filed suit last week over courts in Paddock Park that were formerly used for tennis. In 2019, Haverford converted them to pickleball courts, much to the dismay of neighbors like Albert and Shirley Delmonte, who have lived near the park since 1968.
A group called Netpix Pickleball Club was the driving force behind the conversion, the suit says, though it no longer uses the courts.
“Nevertheless, the usage of the courts at the Park for pickleball play has skyrocketed,” the suit says. “Plaintiffs are regularly bombarded with the incessant, intolerable, high-pitched sounds of hard-plastic pickleballs striking hard paddles.”
Their argument is not the first time these claims have been pursued in court, as the rise of the sport has also led to an increase of unhappy homeowners who have to deal with the noise.
In 2023, plaintiffs sued over courts at Moore Park in Pittsburgh, complaining that pickleball went on as late as 11 p.m. The “constant barrage of noise” had a deteriorating effect on the plaintiff’s nerves, sleep and ability to concentrate, that case said.
The two sides came to an agreement in September that has Pittsburgh shutting off the lights to the court by 8 p.m. and closing it during winter. The City was also to take “all necessary actions” to move the courts, though enforcement of that settlement has been delayed.
The Havertown plaintiffs say they can’t go outside to enjoy their yards or decks because of the “repellant, insufferable noise.” They point to a New York Times article on the impacts of courts in neighborhoods titled “Shattered Nerves, Sleepless Nights: Pickleball Noise is Driving Everyone Nuts.”
In addition to the stress caused by the noise, the plaintiffs allege their property values have been greatly diminished.
“Even with their windows closed, Plaintiffs are inundated by the auditory and psychological shock of high-pitched, staccato pops when the courts in the Park are utilized for near-constant pickleball play,” the suit says.
The courts violate Haverford’s own noise laws, the suit says, as well as an ordinance that forbids the use of “tennis courts in Haverford Township for any other activity other than tennis playing.”
Philip Rosenzweig and Kevin McGowan, Jr. of Silverang, Rosenzweig & Haltzman represent the plaintiffs.
