California family wins $8 million judgment against neighbor who called their child with autism a 'nuisance'

Ezequiel, known as Zeek, is a 14-year-old who suffers from Level 3 autism, the most severe form of the disorder that’s left him unable to speak. His mother says Zeek is capable of producing sounds, which often sound like grunts, a process called vocal stimming.

The lawsuit

Arvayo — a single mother — and Zeek lived with her father in a San Jose home but moved out following complaints from the neighbor. The family was still hit with a lawsuit in December 2023 from the neighbor, who claimed her property value was dropping because of Zeek.

According to NBC Bay Area, the suit — filed against the family and the landlord — claimed Zeek should be considered a “nuisance” and not be allowed around the home again. The neighbor also claimed Zeek was left in the backyard almost daily and would “wail and scream for hours, often without adult supervision,” according to KRON4 News.

A friend of Arvayo alleges the neighbor tried to recruit other people on the street to join her suit, but was rebuffed.

Arvayo filed a countersuit against the neighbor, telling NBC Bay Area that the neighbor called her son’s grunts “disgusting.”

According to the New York Post, the family’s countersuit noted the child attended school and behavioral therapy on weekdays from 8 a.m. to 6 p.m. On weekend afternoons, the countersuit said, he enjoyed chasing bubbles in the backyard and that “often resulted in him expressing his joy through vocal stimming, a form of vocalization and self-stimulatory behavior. Given his condition and need for supervision, Ezequiel was never left unsupervised.”