Negotiators Report Breakthrough in McColl Hazardous Waste Case

A major breakthrough in negotiations occurred Thursday between the City ofFullerton and the 142 families who filed suit in the McColl dump hazardous waste case, and enough settlements were reached to cut the number of defendants nearly in half.

The last settlement Thursday raised the total the families will receive so far to $2.6 million. Also, a March 10 trial date was set on Thursday for the lawsuit against the remaining defendants, including the City of Fullerton and the developers who built the three tracts the families live in.

But Jeffrey Matz of Encino, attorney for most of the families, was more pleased with what went on outside the courtroom.

‘Excellent Chance’ to Settle

For the first time, Matz said, the families’ attorneys sat down with all 19 insurance carriers for the City of Fullerton and conducted meaningful negotiations.

“We met for 4 1/2 hours,” Metz said. “We started out in a jury room and ended up at a restaurant. I would say there is an excellent chance we will settle with the city before the trial date.”

Attorneys for Fullerton could not be reached for comment.

The families, who come from tracts known as Fullerton Crest, the Meadows, and the Islands, have claimed that government officials and businesses connected with building their homes should have warned them about the dangers of the landfill. They claim their health has been endangered and their property values have been hurt.

During World War II, oil companies producing aviation fuel deposited waste at McColl. Now the site is under part of a golf course and is bordered on three sides by homes.

After years of lobbying by Fullerton residents and local officials, the federal government has agreed to clean up the site. But that plan, unrelated to the private lawsuits by the families in the area, has been held up in court because of refusal of other counties to accept the transfer of the hazardous wastes to disposal sites inside their boundaries.

Settlements already have been reached with seven oil companies ($1.4 million) and Orange County ($300,000). The amounts each family will receive have yet to be determined.

The $2.6 million agreed on in settlements so far is only a small portion of what the families’ attorneys expect, since the City of Fullerton and the developers are the primary defendants.

“When it’s all over, I would guess that each family is going to end up with between $250,000 and $500,000,” Matz said.

The families have agreed to let an arbitrator--Judge Joseph Wapner, who is seen on television on “People’s Court”--divide whatever settlement monies they receive.

The amounts will be different per family, partly because not all families were involved in lawsuits against all defendants.

The settlements this week are not major, but attorneys agreed that they help narrow the number of defendants to a manageable level for a trial.

“The settlements approved by the court this week have probably saved the taxpayers six months of trial work,” said Warren Dean of Santa Ana, attorney for some of the Fullerton Crest families.

On Tuesday, the second day of a settlement conference in Judge Jerrold S. Oliver’s courtroom, the families settled with Willdan Inc., the civil engineering firm for the tracts, and Envista Inc., its associate, jointly for $400,000. They also settled with the current and previous owners of the nearby Los Coyotes Country Club, where part of the dump is located: McAuley Oil Co.; Sowa Corp., and Boise Cascade jointly for $350,000.

Families from the Meadows and the Islands tracts tentatively settled Thursday with Leighton & Associates, the soil engineering firm which studied those tracts, for $235,000. Families from Fullerton Crest were not involved in the suit against Leighton.

‘Complicated Case’

“It’s a very complicated case. But Judge Oliver has been extremely competent in handling all this,” Dean said.

Superior Court Judge Robert Todd has been appointed as the judge to handle the trial and pretrial motions. Dean said that he expects the case to be split into at least two trials, with the Fullerton Crest case being tried first.

“Hopefully, the Fullerton Crest case might serve as a bellwether that might lead to a settlement with some of the other defendants,” Dean said.

Defendants remaining in the Fullerton Crest lawsuit include Fullerton; J.F. Shea Co., the developer, and Coates & Wallace Co., the sales agent. The families in the other tracts are suing Fullerton, developer William Lyon Co. and C.W. Poss, the grading contractor.