Confidential
Settlement – $600,000Judge
Court
L.A. Superior Van Nuys
Attorneys
Plaintiff
David M. Grey
(Grey & Grey)
Defendant
Experts
Plaintiff
Bruce Leinster
(technical)
Defendant
Thomas Slossan
(technical)
Facts
On January 16, 1993, a water and power repair crew from the defendant city was dispatched to repair a broken water main that was under the 4800 block of Cerrillos Boulevard in Woodland Hills. The repair crew dug a trench that was ten to eighteen feet long, five feet deep and five feet wide to access the six inch caste iron water main. The trench was opened up at approximately midnight. At 3 a.m., the repair crew noticed that the earth was moving and that an adjacent hillside was sliding. By the next day, the landslide had lifted the roadway up six to eight feet in the air. The plaintiff, adjacent land owner, brought this action based on negligence and inverse condemnation theories of recovery.
Settlement Discussions
Before trial, the plaintiff made a C.C.P º998 demand of $425,000. After a bench trial and a finding of liability against the defendant city, the plaintiff demanded $675,000. The defendant city made a $50,000 settlement offer just before the trial. The defendant city increased its settlement offer to $585,000 after the trial.
Damages
$425,000 (cost to repair the road and hillside).
Other Information
The settlement was reached approximately two years after the case was filed. By stipulation, the parties agreed to bifurcate the trial. The liability phase of the trial took nine days. The sole issue before the court was causation.
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