• ‘De minimis’ is a term used by courts when a complaint is too small or insignificant to be legally actionable.
• Faint smells, noises and lights from a neighbour would all be classified as de minimus. We do not treat them as trespasses because they are generally below the threshold of concern held by reasonable people in that community; expected consequences of living in the world.
• While competent adults remain free to contract otherwise, deeming these trespasses de minimis (ignoring them) is the proper course of action. However, reasonable minds can disagree when to deem a trespass de minimis. As such, we relegate these issues to local communities.