ST. LOUIS PARK, Minn. — In an unusual court battle in St. Louis Park, a homeowner is suing her next-door neighbors and the city over the location of their in-ground basketball hoop. 

The lawsuit comes after the St. Louis Park Planning and Zoning division and the City Council told the family with the basketball hoop that they can have it right where it currently is. 

But the next-door neighbors continue to take legal action.

After school, the Moeding boys unwind by shooting hoops.

"It was a combined birthday present for them," said their mom Lilly Moeding. "They love basketball and we really encourage them to get outside and get off the screen. And basketball is one of the few things where they will actually agree to get off the screen and go play."

Lilly and her husband Ross Moeding have been through months of stress after their new neighbors, Julia and Fred Ramos, pointed out the in-ground pole was slightly too close to the property line.

After working closely with the city, the Moedings installed a new pole just feet away that the zoning division and city council approved.

But that wasn't good enough. The Ramoses appealed to the city and pleaded their case at multiple meetings.

"Balls are flying directly at me," Julia Ramos told the St. Louis Park City Council in November. "My kitchen window is right there, I have to watch the,m I don't want to have to watch them."

And during the zoning dispute, Julia Ramos filed a restraining order against Ross Moeding. In it, she claimed Ross was sending her harassing texts and making her feel unsafe in her house due to "trespassing" on her property to retrieve basketballs.

"He is repeatedly entering my property without permission, which is particularly frightening and causes me to fear for my safety," Julia Ramos wrote.

"My husband has done nothing to deserve a restraining order," Lilly said. "I was genuinely worried that our neighbors were going to lie and get my husband thrown in jail."

After hearing testimony, the judge roundly rejected each of Julia's claims. 

In her written order, Referee Holly Knight stated "there have been no acts of harassment," and "At most, there is a squabble over a zoning issue."

Referee Knight noted that video clips provided by Julia Ramos did not show what she claimed they would, and that Julia was videotaping the Moeding children.

"The video shows the children playing basketball in the middle of the day; they are not being excessively noisy and no basketballs go near Petitioner or her husband," Referee Knight wrote.

But Referee Knight's dismissal of the restraining order did not end the court filings.

Julia Ramos, who used to be a lawyer, filed a lawsuit against the Moedings and St. Louis Park regarding the basketball hoop. In her latest legal argument, she states the hoop should be considered a "sport court" within city code. Ramos argues that the ground beneath and behind the hoop should be considered "playing surface" as part of the "sport court" and therefore is still too close to their property.

In the latest legal action filed last week, Ramos asked a judge for a temporary injunction – ordering the boys not to use the basketball hoop for four months – because she is beginning a construction project at her house.

In that filing, Ramos argues that the "sport court" is installed in "dangerous proximity" to the Ramos' property line.

"What makes this an exigent circumstance is that [Julia Ramos] is having an addition installed on the upper floor of her house facing the [Moedings]. Construction permits were just approved, the work is about to commence momentarily and will last at least four months," Ramos' motion states, adding that construction materials will be kept on her driveway where workers will be active. "Consequently, the area of [Julia Ramos'] property that the [Moedings] use for their basketball activity will be even more dangerous for anyone running through or balls being thrown."

The Moedings say they do not use Ramos' property for their "basketball activity."

"This woman is suing us over a basketball hoop so part of me was like, should we just take it down? Should we just like take them to a park somewhere else?" Lilly Moeding said. "I also believe that you do the right thing, and they're not doing the right thing to us. This is not OK."

The Ramoses would not comment when reached by KARE 11 News.

The Moeding family has started a Gofundme page to help with legal fees.