Neighbors sue city, each other over 2005 slide

By: PAUL SISSON - Staff Writer
EDITOR'S NOTE: This is the second in a series of articles on the complex aftermath of the landslide in January of 2005 that devastated an east Oceanside neighborhood. | Sunday, July 22, 2007 8:26 PM PDT ∞

OCEANSIDE --- In early 2005, after a slow-moving landslide wrecked their east Oceanside neighborhood, families on Arroyo Avenue and Comanche Street sued the city, charging that leaking water and sewer pipes triggered the mess.

Two years later, residents say they still think the city was responsible, but they are also pointing fingers at each other.

Legal briefs filed at the Vista court house show that homeowners on Arroyo Avenue, whose homes were destroyed in the landslide, have sued their neighbors down slope on Comanche.

The lawsuit, filed in September, accuses Comanche owners of failing to "make such improvements, and construct retaining walls, drainage or other precaution(s)" that could have stopped the slide from happening.

Comanche home owners quickly counter-sued, asserting that Arroyo property owners caused the slide by allowing moisture to seep into the hillside, leading to "mud flow, moisture intrusion and other forms of earth movement."

The Comanche homes were not destroyed in the slide, but some were left with cracked foundations, creaky floors and other problems. All lost huge chunks of their back yards.

In attempting to establish what caused the slide, the suits ultimately pose a more pressing question: Who will pay?

The arguments

On Jan. 11, 2005, the hill behind Arroyo Avenue began to slip. Over the next several days, tons of mud crept down the steep slope, slowly pushing into the backyards of the homes below. On Arroyo, six homes were immediately evacuated as roofs began to slant, slabs began to crack and walls began to crumble.

By the time the slide ended, those homes were ruined and a dozen more on Comanche were damaged.

In their joint suit against the city, residents of both streets are seeking a judgement of $27 million, claiming that public infrastructure under Arroyo contributed to the slide.

The suit alleges that the "City of Oceanside negligently owned and maintained water and sewer lines and fire hydrants in the area which leaked into the hillside, causing the Arroyo/Comanche landslide."

Home owners also allege that the city "knew and had notice by prior complaint of leaks in the fire hydrants, water mains and sewer lines at the area," and that they "were outdated beyond their useful life."

Patrick Catalano, who represents 24 families who sued the city, said Friday that he does not think that homeowners suing each other conflicts with the notion that the city was responsible.

"The city caused it and maybe some of the stuff that the homeowners did might have contributed a little bit," Catalano said.

Homeowners on both streets, and the attorneys who represent them, declined to say last week what spurred them to file the suits against each other.

"We have been advised by our attorney not to discuss that," said Comanche homeowner Veronica Tingzon.

"I really can't comment on that," added JoAnn Freda whose family lost its home on Arroyo.

Many said that, despite the legal back and forth, they bear their neighbors no ill will.

"I really can't blame them," Tingzon said. "I mean, they lost their homes and they had to do something."

Indeed many neighbors said they still hold joint meetings with Catalano. He also represents a group of homeowners in Carlsbad, who on Friday announced they had reached a $12.5 million settlement in a lawsuit over a similar landslide at a La Costa condominium complex.

The 2005 Oceanside lawsuit, which has now been consolidated with the suits between property owners, is scheduled for a settlement hearing Friday.

However, several such hearings have been held since the lawsuit was filed and an attorney for the city said this week he expects little to come out of Friday's meeting.

Water, water everywhere

Court papers filed by the city, through an outside attorney hired to handle the case, state that heavy rainfall caused the slide and that the "homes were constructed on geological unstable materials that are prone to landslides because of their high clay content."

The city states that it hired professionals to inspect the water and sewer mains under Arroyo and Comanche and that those inspections found no large cracks or fissures that could have leaked enough water to cause the slide.

Arroyo's history of landslides in high rainfall years is also part of the city's defense.

A legal brief filed in court notes that the average yearly rainfall total from 1952 to 2005 is 12.68 inches. But in 1976, 1983 and 2005, landslides occurred on Arroyo just after big storms dumped large amounts of rain on the area.

"In the 87 days before the 2005 landslide, 17.87 inches of rainfall were recorded," a city legal brief states. "This is 141 percent of the average annual rainfall for this area. This amount of rainfall, for an 87 day period, has not been exceeded in the previous 53 years."

According to the brief 24.85 inches fell in 1983 and 12.97 fell in 1976.

Oceanside City Attorney John Mullen said he still has not seen evidence that proves the homeowners allegations against the city.

"There is zero evidence that the city has caused any of this," Mullen said.

Catalano takes exception to that statement. He said he has evidence that proves the city's sewer pipes were leaking.

"We gave them the tape that proves it," Catalano said.

Mullen said he has heard such statements repeatedly over the last few years, but added that he has seen no proof.

"We've given them everything we have, and we've been stonewalled in discovery on this case," he said.

The Oceanside City Council set aside $1 million to defend the case in court. Mullen said that fund is "nowhere near" depleted. He added that the city has some "very old" insurance policies that probably will reimburse the city for the cost of trying the case.

"We believe that we are going to get at least some of that money back," Mullen said.

Home owners hang on

Residents on Comanche remain convinced that city infrastructure saturated the ground ahead of heavy rains.

Standing in what is left of her backyard, Julie Brown stared at the hillside which now comes to the edge of her patio. Brown said that, when the slide was still moving a few feet every day, she and her neighbors dug long trenches and installed water pumps in an attempt to remove water from the hillside.

"We were digging in 99 percent sewage," Brown said. "So we know what we're talking about."

Wearing a bright pink pair of sunglasses, 9-year-old Stacey Brown stood next to her mom glaring at the earthen intrusion into her backyard.

"We used to be able to play soccer, it was so big," she said.

Tingzon, who has been one of the most organized and vocal critics of the city over the past two years, said that she is convinced homeowners will be able to prove in court that city pipes leaked.

"We know things that the city doesn't think we know," Tingzon said.

Next: Two years later, the ruined hillside is still leaking water.

Contact staff writer Paul Sisson at (760) 901-4087 or psisson@nctimes.com. Comment at nctimes.com.

First name only. Comments including last names, contact addresses, e-mail addresses or phone numbers will be deleted. Attempts to misrepresent your identity or impersonate any person will not be approved. All comments are screened before they appear online, so please keep them brief. Comments reflect the views of those commenting and not necessarily those of the North County Times or its staff writers. Click here to view additional comment policies.