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Yahoo!A lawsuit between La Conchita residents and Ventura County for the 2005 landslide that destroyed 13 houses and killed 10 people was settled on Monday, July 14. Ventura County Superior Court Judge Vincent O’Neill ruled the county was only liable for property losses, not loss of life.
Under terms of the settlement, the county—represented by Noel Klebaum—agreed not to seek its legal expenses against the residents and residents dropped their lawsuit against the county. The plaintiffs, a mix of La Conchita residents and family members of the deceased, had claimed the county contributed to the landslide by building a retaining wall. Klebaum insisted that the retaining wall was installed at the request of residents to keep dirt and rocks from falling on Vista Del Rincon Drive—the street on which most of the homes were damaged or destroyed. The suit was dismissed without prejudice, in other words it cannot be refiled.
A jury’s decision is still pending in La Conchita's civil case against the owners of La Conchita Ranch Company (located above Vista Del Rincon Drive), which started in late June and is expected to continue for several months. The plaintiff’s attorney, Anthony Murray (of the Loeb and Loeb firm of Los Angeles), is claiming that La Conchita Ranch Company over-watered its 688-acre hilltop orchard—creating a dangerous formula for an already unstable slope.
The civil case has featured more than 200 expert witnesses, including engineers and hydrologists, to present different interpretations of the ranch’s liability. Attorney Richared E. Morton is representing the Ranch Company and maintains that the avocado and citrus company had no way to predict the outcome of its watering techniques.
The deceased La Conchita residents included Tony Alvis, 53; Vanessa Bryson, 28; Christina Kennedy, 45; John Morgan, 56; Patrick Rodreick, 47; Charley Womack, 51; Michelle Wallet, 37; and her three daughters: Hannah, 10; Raven, 6; and Paloma, 2.
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That hillside has been coming down for years. It is awful that people died, but that is what happens when you build under a unstable cliff. If anybody should be sued, it is the county for letting them build there. The hill has been sliding forever, go back and look at the history of La Conchita. The ranch had nothing to do with it it was an act of "God" and for you liberls "mother nature". The residents are in it just for the money or they wouldnt have settled with the county. I dont know who this judge is but I bet money he is a liberal. This is just another way that the lame liberals can steal from people who work hard for their money. This is a classic example of what is wrong with America, wealth redistribution.
Cuda (anonymous profile)
September 10, 2008 at 1:07 p.m. (Suggest removal)
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