First of all I question this woman's previous "assault" incident... to someone like her, just walking up and saying hello could be construed as an "assault".. Secondly, if she was so shaken up, why didn't she call the police, and why did she wait til the next day to go to the hospital?? Lastly, whether or not 10:30 was too late to be knocking on doors, the lady didn't have to take this to court after apologies were made and reparations offered. Believe me, I know this type of neighbor, even if the girls had come earlier and spoken to her personally, she'd find something to sue someone over sometime...
The article says she did call the sheriff and they advised her to leave her home that night.
Note, this narrow factual point should not be construed that I therefore support her decision to proceed with a lawsuit. I feel a disclaimer is in order as those discussing the issue seem to be emotionally invested in their stance and prone to making leaps of logic from point a to point z.