Angry neighbor: Molly Moon’s ice cream smell ‘unbearable’ ‘She just likes to sue me,’ ice cream maker says of neighbor

Molly Moons Ice Cream is shown next to Superb Custom Tailors in Seattle's Queen Anne neighborhood on Tuesday, July 1, 2014. The owner of Superb is suing Molly Moons over smells she says are emanating from the business. less Molly Moons Ice Cream is shown next to Superb Custom Tailors in Seattle's Queen Anne neighborhood on Tuesday, July 1, 2014. The owner of Superb is suing Molly Moons over smells she says are emanating from the ... more Photo: JOSHUA TRUJILLO, SEATTLEPI.COM Photo: JOSHUA TRUJILLO, SEATTLEPI.COM Image 1 of / 5 Caption Close Angry neighbor: Molly Moon’s ice cream smell ‘unbearable’ 1 / 5 Back to Gallery

An unhappy neighbor to Molly Moon’s Homemade Ice Cream parlor on Queen Anne Hill has again sued, this time claiming an “unbearable” smell wafting from the ice creamery hurt her business.

Filing a lawsuit in King County Superior Court late last month, an attorney for Superb Custom Tailors owner Misook Chung claimed the stink of rotting milk emanating from Molly Moon's grew so bad that Chung was forced to stop altering wedding dresses.

According to the lawsuit, a plumbing problem allowed dairy waste to fester beneath the tailor shop, located on West Galer Street in a storefront adjoining the ice cream parlor.

Speaking Tuesday, proprietor Molly Moon Neitzel described the lawsuit as the latest annoyance related to “an unfortunate neighbor situation” that’s existed since she opened the parlor in September 2011.

Neitzel, who has seen her namesake ice cream brand flourish in recent years, joked that Chung and her attorney are trying to “shake the money tree that is Molly Moon’s Homemade Ice Cream.”

“She’s trying to find ways that we’ve done something wrong,” Neitzel said. “She just likes to sue me.”

Chung’s first lawsuit came a month after Neitzel opened the Queen Anne parlor. At issue then was a Molly Moon’s sign that Chung contended blocked her own; the lawsuit was settled out of court.

This time around, Chung claims, dairy waste improperly disposed of at the parlor permeated the air in her tailor shop so heavily she was sickened.

Suing jointly with her sister and business partner, Hae Yang Chung, the women claim the smell arrived in June 2012 and lingered until last October. According to the lawsuit, the stink of rotting milk had become overpowering in one fitting room of the tailor shop and was so severe that one of the Chung sisters took ill.

“They both experienced nausea, headaches and a general unpleasant and very frustrating effect,” attorney Robert Mussehl said in court papers.

Workers at the ice cream shop were pouring dairy waste down a mop sink, which flowed into a sewer line connecting the neighboring businesses.

Neitzel said a plumbing problem allowed mop water and waste left over by employees cleaning the ice cream machine to pool in a crawlspace. The fetid mix apparently turned rancid months later.

Through their attorney, the women contend they had difficulty doing their work because of the stink created by the ice cream parlor. They also claim to have been concerned about the “potential harmful effects” of the stench.

The women have asked that Molly Moon’s and the building’s owner, Amundson Development Co., pay at least $100 a day for each day the stink was present. If they prevail, that would amount to at least $46,000; they’ve also asked the court to award additional damages, as well as compensation for their legal costs.

Neitzel said she wasn’t interested in settling with Chung, who in her view was searching for reasons to drag her back into court. She said she received a demand letter from Chung’s attorney shortly after the stinky problem was resolved.

Neither Molly Moon’s nor the building’s owner have formally responded to the lawsuit.

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Seattlepi.com reporter Levi Pulkkinen can be reached at 206-448-8348 or levipulkkinen@seattlepi.com. Follow Levi on Twitter at twitter.com/levipulk.