What the Duck? Texas HOA Sues Woman for $250k for Feeding the Birds

Don't. Feed. The. Ducks. But a she did anyway, and now this Cypress, Texas woman is facing a $250,000 lawsuit from her Home Owners Association.

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Home Owners Associations get a bad rap, and it's stuff like this that can cause it. It's one thing to hound on someone to mow their lawn or to get their trash cans put away in a timely manner, but to file a lawsuit against someone because they feed the ducks?

Seems kind of excessive.

Don't Feed the Ducks

What might seem harmless has turned into a quarter of a million dollar lawsuit against Kathleen Rowe and her husband, George.

The Fort Worth Star-Telegram reports that Rowe has been feeding the ducks in their neighborhood since the passing of her son, about 10 years ago, as a form of comfort.

According to the lawsuit which was filed in Harris County on June 9, the Lakeland Village Community Association says Rowe has been warned in the past and asked to stop feeding the wildlife.

Since she has not stopped feeding the ducks, the HOA has filed the lawsuit "potentially the foreclosure of their home in Cypress to cover any court-ordered fines."

Lawyer Up

The Rowe's have of course retained a attorney for their defense. Attorney Richard Weaver said in an emailed statement to McClatchy News:

“Lakeland Village Community Association’s lawsuit against Ms. Rowe is the silliest lawsuit I have ever seen, the HOA sued my client for up to $250,000 for feeding ducks, but there is nothing in the community rules that would prohibit a person from feeding ducks."

The HOA's legal team says the community rules are:

- Activities that emit foul odors or disturbing noise that may “disturb the peace”
- Hobbies that cause unclean conditions
- “Noxious or offensive activity” that causes embarrassment or annoyance
- Activities that disturb wildlife and vegetation

Rowes' attorney doesn't think they've violated any of the HOA rules and has requested the court dismiss the lawsuit.

As bad a rap as HOA's get, this certainly doesn't help their case. It's no wonder people don't like living in HOA neighborhoods.

Bet You Didn't Know: 10 Bizarre Texas Laws Still on the Books

Many states still have strange laws on the books that aren’t enforced or taken seriously anymore, and Texas is no exception.

Most of these laws are just funny now, but at one time, there was a valid (or at least somewhat valid) reason for them to exist.

Texas has plenty of strange rules and regulations that you could technically be prosecuted for if you violate them, since they've never been amended. Some of these are only for specific cities and not state-wide, but all of them are pretty odd!

Let's take a look at 10 of the weirdest ones in the Lone Star State.

Blue Bell Ice Cream On The List of Top 15 Brands Nationwide

Blue Bell is the official ice cream of Texas, and my personal favorite. According to a new list of the 15 best brands of ice cream nationwide, Blue Bell was ranked in the middle.

In addition to ingredients, texture, and variety, Tasting Table used Influenster and other site reviews as part of its ranking process.

Scroll on to find out how Blue Bell compared to the number one ice cream, and how all 15 on the list were judged.