Question: I am a Realtor, and I listed a property in the country near Sioux Falls, S.D. Shortly after I began advertising the property, a neighbor put up a large sign that stated a hog lot was going to be built within the year on his property.  I promptly called everyone involved, including the neighbor, to find out what was going on.  The neighbor stated the hog lot may or may not happen; it was up to him.  I then checked with the local zoning office and found he could build a hog confinement but with 25 different restrictions, so it was possible but unlikely. My question is: If he does not build the hog confinement within the year, would my client and I have any legal recourse? Note: I received 22 phone calls before the sign went up and one call after.

-- Andy, Sioux Falls, S.D.

Answer: I fear it's going to be tricky to make a silk purse out of this sow's ear.

Without investigating the details, of course, no lawyer could make a firm judgment on whether you are likely to find a legal remedy. But Ralph Holmen, associate general counsel of the National Association of Realtors, says you probably wouldn't succeed in court if what the neighbor is advertising turns out to be entirely truthful. If the neighbor's message can be shown to be false and malicious, you may have a chance.

Jeremiah Murphy, a lawyer in Sioux Falls, agrees that you may be able to sue successfully if the neighbor has made false statements intended to reduce the value of your property. But, he adds, "it's a difficult matter to prove."

Though not an expert on South Dakota law, Stefan F. Tucker, a lawyer at Venable LLP in Washington, D.C., says he believes you would have to show that you have suffered actual damage. Again, this could be difficult to prove, as no one can say for certain what the land was worth before the sign went up.

One possible precedent might be Peck v. Bigelow, a case heard in the Appeals Court of Massachusetts in 1993, says Michael H. Schill, a law professor at New York University. In that case, a person who made unfounded claims to ownership of a piece of land being sold was required to pay damages for having interfered with the sale of that land. The unfounded claims were found to have made it more difficult to sell the property.

In any case, you have the sympathy of Tom Murphy, a broker at Chell Realtors in Sioux Falls, who is no relation to Jeremiah Murphy. "Obviously," the broker says, "a neighbor is not going to be crazy [about the prospect of a hog farm next door] because the smell is really unbearable, especially on a hot summer day." Pigs are smellier than cattle, and sometimes you can pick up the stench five miles away, Mr. Murphy reports.

But Mr. Murphy doubts zoning authorities would allow a major hog operation to be built near the city. "If it's within a few miles of Sioux Falls, they're not going to let that happen," Mr. Murphy says.

-- Mr. Hagerty is a staff reporter for The Wall Street Journal. His "House Talk" column appears most Fridays on RealEstateJournal.com. E-mail him your questions about the residential real-estate market. Please include your first name and city and state. If your question is answered and posted, we will show your first name and city. Due to volume of mail received, we regret that we cannot answer every question.

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