Facts

In 2013, a landslide damaged numerous homes and property in the Lakeside Heights neighborhood. Plaintiffs were residents in Lakeside Heights. Plaintiffs brought claims for inverse condemnation against the County of Lake claiming that the landslide was caused by leaking water delivery lines owned, maintained, and controlled by the County of Lake.

PLAINTIFF'S CONTENTIONS: Plaintiffs sued on a theory of inverse condemnation. Plaintiffs contended that leaks in the water delivery system, owned, maintained, and controlled by the County of Lake existed in the neighborhood, which dumped large quantities of water into the hillside causing the landslide. Immediately after the landslide began, the County of Lake hired a leak detection company to survey its lines. This leak detection showed no leaks. About a month later, a second leak detection showed two leaks.

Plaintiffs utilized a two-pronged approach. First, plaintiff commissioned a geotechnical analysis that showed water introduced into the slope was needed to cause the landslide and only the County of Lake's water delivery lines could have contributed enough water to cause a landslide to a mathematical certainty.

Second, plaintiffs excavated the locations where two leaks were located after the landslide began and had then analyzed microscopically and visually. This analysis showed a clear "slow growth" leak pattern indicating, forensically, that the physical evidence corroborated what the geotechnical analysis showed.

DEFENDANT'S CONTENTIONS: Defendant contended there were no leaks in its water delivery lines in the neighborhood prior to the landslide and that a leak detection performed after the landslide began confirmed this. Defendant also contended that any leaks that existed in its water delivery lines were caused by the landslide, and did not contribute to the landslide. The County of Lake further contended that there had been prior landslides in the neighborhood and that the neighborhood was constructed with shoddy materials, bad fill, and that the developer of the neighborhood had gone to prison and a grand jury convened regarding the neighborhood's poor construction and approvals in the 1980s.

Settlement Discussions

Prior to trial commencing trial, the county's highest settlement offer to plaintiffs was $1 million.

Result

The County of Lake settled with the plaintiffs for $4.5 million.

Other Information

In response to plaintiffs' complaint, the County of Lake sued all plaintiffs on a cross-complaint alleging that plaintiffs had caused the landslide. Prior to trial commencing, the County of Lake dismissed all the cross-complaints against plaintiffs.

Length

one week