Facts

In April of 2010, a landslide occurred in the City of Piedmont, which blocked a public street and kept it closed for nearly 36 hours.

Piedmont sued Bret Wood and Elisabeth Beresford Wood, owners of single-family home is located above a canyon overlooking a public street, in an effort to eliminate any potential interference with a public street within the city's limits.

PLAINTIFF'S CONTENTIONS:
The city contended that landslide was caused by defendants' inadequate drainage and maintenance of their property. The city then informed the Beresford Woods of the problem and directed them to repair their property. It also informed them that they would be responsible for the city's costs in repairing the damage from the landslide and for overseeing the repair work, claiming it spent considerable money and effort repairing the street. The city claimed the Beresford Woods did not pay the requested reimbursement. The city sought to recover damages incurred in the clean up of the landslide, which occurred on defendants' property, and to ensure that defendants stabilized the hillside to prevent future landslides from occurring.

At the time the action was filed, the Beresford Woods had begun repairing their property, and completed the repair work during the course of the litigation. The city asserted causes of action for public nuisance, trespass, negligence, recovery of unpaid permit fees, and injunctive relief.

DEFENDANTS' CONTENTIONS:
Defendants argued that there was no evidence produced during the litigation to support that the landslide was caused by the Beresford-Woods' alleged failure to maintain their property. Defendants contended that the landslide was caused by the general contactor's installation of a rainwater downspout into a surface water drainage system that drained on to the head of the subject slope. The drainage system was not designed to handle the volume of rainwater captured from the dwelling's roof and channeled through the downspout, and therefore should not have been installed by the general contractor into the drainage system.

Result

The parties settled for $40,000.

Other Information

FILING DATE: April 18, 2013.