Local News in Brief : $2-Million Suit Against DWP in Fire Dropped

Six East Valley and Burbank homeowners and two insurance companies agreed Tuesday to drop a $2-million lawsuit brought against the Los Angeles Department of Water and Power.

The suit alleged that the DWP caused a 1980 fire that swept through Sunland, Tujunga, Sun Valley and Burbank, destroying several homes and damaging dozens of others. The plaintiffs charged that power lines were in a “dangerous and defective condition” and that the DWP in effect condemned the property by causing the fire.

Last week, a 12-member jury that heard the case in Burbank Superior Court rejected the “dangerous and defective condition” charge. Burbank Superior Court Judge Thomas C. Murphy was scheduled to hear arguments Thursday on the condemnation charge.

Assistant City Atty. Maynard Asper said the two sides settled the suit after the DWP agreed to waive its rights to recover legal costs. In return, the homeowners and insurance companies dropped the condemnation charge and agreed not to appeal the jury’s ruling on the dangerous-condition allegation.