Mayors across Italy are fearing a deluge of legal complaints after the country’s top court ruled that noisy nightlife could be harmful to people’s health. In the first ruling of its kind in Italy, the supreme court of cassation ordered Brescia city council to pay €50,000 in compensation to a couple for failing to safeguard them against noise, reported Il Messaggero. 

The decision concludes a 10-year legal case in which the couple, who live in Carmine, a district of the northern Italian city popular for its bustling nightlife, pursued a right to “a quiet life” and “rest”. They claimed they had endured countless sleepless nights owing to the incessant chatter of often drunk people on the streets near their home.