Facts

Prior to Jan. 9, 2005, heavy rainfall had saturated the soil, caused flooding, and caused several roads to be washed out. Further rainfall on January 9th caused a large mud flow to run into The Old Road in Castaic. The mud and water flow washed over plaintiffs James and Janet Pierce's property, which included a plant nursery called Plant Warehouse. Defendant Moshe Tzemach was the uphill and adjacent landowner to the flooded property.

The Pierces filed suit against the Los Angeles Flood Control District, the county of Los Angeles, and the state of California claiming inverse condemnation; and against the county of Los Angeles, the state of California, and Moshe Tzemach claiming nuisance.

PLAINTIFFS' CONTENTIONS:
Plaintiffs contended that defendant Tzemach failed to maintain and inspect his property causing water, soil and sediment to flood onto plaintiffs' business property. The materials failed to drain because the state of California and the county of Los Angeles failed to inspect, maintain, and clean two drainage culverts on The Old Road.

Result

The parties settled for a total of $560,000. The state of California settled for $375,000, the county of Los Angeles settled for $175,000, and Moshe Tzemach settled for $10,000.