Posted January 13, 2016

The Federal Aviation Administration has ordered that all drones be registered with the federal government by February of this year and is imposing major fines on operators flying near restricted spaces. In addition, based on a lawsuit filed last week in a Kentucky federal court, the FAA may receive authority to regulate precisely where it is legal to fly a drone, even over one’s own property.

Last July, William Merideth shot neighbor David Boggs’ drone out of the sky as it flew 200 feet above his property. Merideth was cleared of criminal charges for the incident in October, but Boggs is asking the court to make a legal determination as to whether his drone’s July 2015 flight constituted trespass. In the case, plaintiff David Boggs also wants the court to rule that he is entitled to damages of $1,500 for his destroyed drone.

“The United States Government has exclusive sovereignty over airspace of the United States pursuant to 49 U.S.C.A. § 40103,” Boggs’ lawyer, James Mackler, wrote in the civil complaint. “The airspace, therefore, is not subject to private ownership nor can the flight of an aircraft within the navigable airspace of the United States constitute a trespass.”

The shooter, William Merideth, claimed that the drone had flown over his property in July 2015 and he shot it down, saying that he had previously spotted similar drones above or very close to his home in Hillview, Ky.  American law is unclear as to what constitutes aerial trespass or whether such a concept is legally recognized.

Boggs’ lawyer hopes the court rules broadly in this case and finds that Boggs’ flight of his DJI Phantom 3 did not constitute a trespass and that his client is indeed owed money for the destruction of the drone.

For his part, defendant Merideth is unapologetic, marketing T-shirts featuring the hashtag #droneslayer and posting a banner on Facebook reading: “Not only did I do it, but I meant to do it, and I’d do it again.”

A copy of the court filing may be viewed here.