California woman allegedly asks family if there was a ‘cure’ for their child’s autism. Then she sues the kid for playing in his own yard

A family in San Jose, California, became entangled in a three-year lawsuit after a neighbor allegedly complained about their 11-year-old son with autism playing in their own backyard and being a “public nuisance.” Now, the woman has been ordered to pay $8 million to the boy and his family following a jury trial.

The feud between the neighbors on Boynton Avenue began in December 2023, when a woman filed a lawsuit seeking a “public nuisance abatement” and a restraining order against Serena Arvayo, her family, and their landlord, claiming her son Ezekiel’s behavior was “offensive” and “indecent,” according to KRON 4. The neighbor’s lawsuit alleged that Ezekiel would “wail and scream for hours” while left unsupervised in their family’s backyard daily.

The neighbor claimed that the constant disturbances by Ezekiel led to her experiencing emotional distress whenever she was at home working. As a result, the neighbor felt a “loss of enjoyment” of her home, and her career and business were allegedly impacted negatively.

Neighbor allegedly reports kid with autism for ‘strange noises’

Before the lawsuit was filed, the neighbor allegedly met Arvayo for the first time during a confrontation in which she voiced her grievances. According to court documents, she allegedly requested that Ezekiel be prohibited from playing in the family’s backyard because of his noise. She supposedly also contacted the Arvayo family’s landlord to report Ezekiel for making “strange noises.”

In March 2024, the Arvayo family filed a cross-complaint as a response, stating that Ezekiel was diagnosed with level three autism at age two and is non-verbal. Because of this, Arvayo denied ever leaving her son unsupervised, emphasizing that his sensory challenges and communication difficulties require constant supervision. The cross-complaint also noted that Ezekiel’s vocal stimming was his way of expressing emotions and communicating, and that he attends behavioral therapy classes.

“The noises were Ezekiel’s attempt to communicate emotions and were uncontrollable,” the family’s attorneys said in the cross-complaint. “Instead of being understanding, [the neighbor] asked Serena, directly in front of Ezekiel, if there was a cure for his condition.”

Jury rules in favor of the Arvayo family

Santa Clara County ultimately dismissed the neighbor’s public nuisance lawsuit in September after a jury reviewed the cross-complaint. The neighbor was ordered to pay restitution for causing “intentional infliction of emotional distress” instead.

Rachael Boden, one of the family’s attorneys, told KRON 4 that the jury’s decision was a “great feeling of justice” for the Arvayo family. “This has been a years-long battle that we had no choice but to fight. […] While the sounds an autistic child makes are audible, they do not constitute a nuisance in our civilized society. We hope this case shines a light on the real-life day-to-day that families like this go through,” she added.

The Arvayo family has since moved out of their Boynton Avenue home, claiming the neighbor harassed the family throughout the lawsuit. On the other hand, the $8 million awarded to the family will go towards covering costs of assistance and security for Ezekiel, Boden said.

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