Don't get super comfy with your neighbor's Poké Stops and Gyms in Pokémon Go

If you live in an area where Poké Stops and Gyms are somehow in your neighbors’ yards, we have some bad news. According to Variety, a proposed settlement filed in a California court will do away with them all if it’s approved.

The proposed settlement stems from a lawsuit that New Jersey resident Jeffrey Marder filed in 2016 against Niantic Labs, The Pokémon Company, and Nintendo. In the lawsuit, Marder claimed that Pokémon Go’s Poké Stops and wild Pokémon encouraged players to trespass on other people’s properties.

“During the week of Pokémon Go’s release, strangers began lingering outside of his home with their phones in hand,” reads part of the lawsuit.

“At least five individuals knocked on Plaintiff’s door and asked for access to Plaintiff’s backyard in order to ‘catch’ Pokémon that the game has placed at Plaintiff’s residence.”

If approved, the proposed settlement would apply to those who own or lease property within 100 meters of a Poké Stop or Gym. Here’s what the proposed settlement would require Niantic to do:

1. Maintain a database of requests from residents whose properties are within 40 meters of a Poké Stop or Gym.
2. Retain the aforementioned requests for at least a year.
3. Use “commercially reasonable efforts” to resolve complaints during a three-year period.
4. Communicate resolutions to complaints within 15 days.
5. Send a warning message to Pokémon Go Raids that include 10 or more players.
6. Avoid putting new Poké Stops or Gyms on single-family residential properties.
7. Receive requests from county or city governments to use their hours of operation for Poké Stops and Gyms located in parks.

Lastly, the proposed settlement would award each plaintiff $1,000 and award attorneys fees and reimbursement for expenses stemming from the case.

It’s unknown if the court will accept the proposed settlement. We’ll update this post if anything changes.