County’s Liability in Malibu Landslide Suit Called a ‘Setback’

A judge’s ruling that Los Angeles County should pay damages to a couple whose $2.3-million home was destroyed in a landslide at Malibu’s Big Rock Mesa is “clearly a setback,” the county’s lawyer said Saturday.

The lawyer, William Vaughn of O’Melveny & Myers, said, however, that the decision is not necessarily a precedent in more than 200 similar cases lodged by residents whose homes were also damaged or destroyed in the September, 1983, slide.

Margaret and August Hansch, in what their attorney called the “test case” in 230 suits against the county, claimed that an ancient landslide was reactivated in 1983 by a rise in the water table that resulted from a drainage system and seepage pits that the county helped plan and approve.

Los Angeles Superior Court Judge Jack T. Ryburn agreed with the couple Friday, finding after a 2 1/2-month trial that the county was “in the best position to assess the risk involved” in allowing development with seepage pits rather than sewers and “must now bear the loss when damage occurs.”

Attorney’s Assessment Disputed

Vaughn disputed the assessment of attorney Richard Norton, who represents the Hansches and 50 other Big Rock Mesa families, that the rest of the plaintiffs may now be able to proceed more or less directly to the point of determining how much the county must pay them.

Vaughn said: “It depends on what issues you are talking about. There may be issues specific to the Hansch case that do not apply to the others. It’s really quite a complicated legal question.

“If we file an appeal, the matter is up to the appellate court; hence, it wouldn’t be binding in any (other) case.” He said no decision has been made on whether to appeal the Hansch case.

Vaughn said, however, that the county does intend to press ahead with countersuits against more than 300 homeowners, builders, geologists and water companies associated with the development of Big Rock Mesa.

The county has claimed that the homes were approved on the condition that residents continue a program to pump water out of the slide area. The program was abandoned.

The county also has said homeowners rejected attempts to install sewers there.

150 Acres Involved

The 1983 slide involved more than 150 acres. The county then condemned 30 homes as unsafe; nearly 200 others sustained some damage. Values of Big Rock Mesa homes--damaged or not--have plunged.

Ryburn set Oct. 15 for the opening of the jury phase to determine exactly how much the Hansches should receive. The couple wants to be reimbursed for the loss of their house and also seeks an unspecified amount for emotional distress.

Total liability in all the suits against the county has been estimated at anywhere from $200 million to 4th District Supervisor Deane Dana’s forecast of “as high as $500 million.”