How a Minnesota family’s hobby escalated to a citywide legal battle

A Minnesota judge has dunked a lawsuit seeking to shut down a St. Louis Park family’s driveway basketball hoop, ending — at least temporarily — a contentious dispute between neighbors that generated headlines and drew the attention of the Minnesota Timberwolves.

Hennepin County Judge Lois Conroy dismissed the case Tuesday, after more than a year of arguments between two St. Louis Park families. The conflict may not yet be fully settled, but for now it’s worth looking back and asking: How did it come to this?

Julia and Frederick Ramos began legal motions against Ross and Lilly Moeding sometime last year. Julia Ramos has represented her family, explaining in a May 12 court filing that she practiced law more than 30 years ago but spends much of her adult life as an artist and stay-at-home mom. The Ramos family did not respond to requests for comment.

Attorney Robert Meller represents the Moeding family. Attorneys Jared Shepherd and John Brooksbank represent St. Louis Park.

The Ramos family argued that the basketball hoop in the Moeding’s driveway violates city zoning requirements, endangers the Moeding children and threatens the Ramos family’s privacy. Julia Ramos said that the Moeding family continued to enter her yard for stray basketballs and that she has received local and national death threats once the dispute hit the media.

“I just want to state that I am not making at all a statement that there should be no basketballs in people’s own houses or in their yards,” Ramos said in court filings. “We’re talking about this particular location in between houses where it’s exactly along the line of our driveway.”

Lilly Moeding explained through an online fundraiser that her family uses the court to encourage her 9- and 12-year-old boys to engage in healthy activities. Moeding said they’re fighting the suit because “this isn’t just about a basketball hoop.”

“It’s about teaching our boys that when faced with an injustice, you don’t back down,” Moeding wrote.

The Ramoses voiced concerns about the basketball hoop’s location with the Moedings in 2024, after Lilly Moeding says the Ramos’ family moved next door.

Those concerns escalated into a zoning appeal with St. Louis Park and a restraining order against Ross Moeding. The Moedings moved the hoop to comply with the city, and the restraining order was dismissed.

After the zoning dispute, court filings show the families tried to make peace that summer through a session with the St. Louis Park Community Mediation Services program. That failed, and the Ramos family filed a civil case against the Moedings this January.

That case escalated on April 21 when the Ramoses sought an injunction to stop the Moedings from using the hoop. The Moeding family launched a fundraiser days later to cover legal costs for the dispute, capturing Minnesota basketball fans’ attention.

St. Louis Park attorney attorney Jared Shepherd sided with the Moedings’ in a May 5 court document, arguing that the Ramoses’ claim is moot because the city changed its zoning code to address their concerns.

Julia Ramos disagreed through another court filing and wrote that the Moedings used media coverage to assassinate her character. That’s lead to death threats “by phone, text, social media, and even through postal mail.” She hired private security for her home and involved local police “who have been commendably responsive in increasing patrols in Plaintiff’s neighborhood” to protect her family.

The Ramoses sent a cease and desist letter threatening to sue the Moedings for defamation, but that letter arrived a day before Conroy dismissed the lawsuit.

The dispute centered on two homes near Bass Lake in St. Louis Park. The city amended its zoning codes this March to rule that driveways are not considered sports courts, allowing the Moeding family’s hoop to stay.

Julia Ramos attached pictures of a dented car roof as evidence of property damage caused by the hoop’s location. The Ramoses added that Ross Moeding invaded the family’s privacy when entering their yard to retrieve basketballs, and they expressed concern that a months-long construction project to build an addition to the Ramoses’ home could endanger the Moeding’s children.

The Moeding’s countered that they have complied with city rules and use the hoop to encourage “active, healthy, and happy” time with their kids.

Moeding said donations will be used for lawyer fees and to build a longer fence. They plan to donate the remaining funds to the nonprofit 612 Promise, which provides access to sports programming for disadvantaged youth in the Twin Cities, but she worries Ramos will bring further legal action.

“We wish we could say it’s over. But the reality is, we’re bracing for what may come next. Our neighbor has appealed every ruling so far — from the zoning board to the city council — and we believe she may try to appeal this decision as well," Moeding wrote Tuesday, thanking supporters.

“Seeing their [the kids’] faces light up with joy — after so many heavy days — was a reminder of why we’ve fought so hard to protect this small piece of childhood.”