Michigan homeowner says HOA overstepped, using drone to spy on property

A 16-year long dispute between a Michigan homeowner and the Grand Traverse County township may be reaching a boiling point with the state Supreme Court agreeing to hear a case that questions what a reasonable level of privacy truly is.

From North Long Lake Road, Todd Maxon's property looks like any other -- maybe even a little tidier. But it's a view from the sky that raised concerns with some neighbors and Long Lake township officials, causing the Michigan Supreme Court to step in.

According to court documents, in 2007, the township first raised a legal challenge to the number of cars Maxon kept on the property, and Maxon prevailed.

A decade later, following up on concerns, the township tried something that may have crossed a legal line to get a better view of what was happening on Maxon's property.

Court documents suggest the township hired a drone operator on more than one occasion to get a bird's eye view of his home to get evidence that Maxon was in violation.

Those 2017 and 2018 flights generated visual evidence that Maxon and his legal team say crossed a fourth amendment line of unreasonable searches.

In their legal filings, Maxon's attorneys claim that the vehicles weren't visible from the ground and that using a drone was an invasion of privacy.

They go on to claim that if these types of searches are allowed it would permit "government officials to trample the people's fourth amendment rights consequence-free."

The Michigan Supreme Court said the case will be added to its next session with no definitive timeline on a ruling.