Airport Noise Spurs Suit by Loma Portal Residents

A $39-million lawsuit alleging property damage and mental duress from airplane noise from Lindbergh Field has been filed in San Diego Superior Court by 144 property owners in Loma Portal.

The suit against the San Diego Unified Port District, which operates the airport, might be the first of many as other property owners under the field’s flight paths have their claims for damages rejected by the district and therefore become legally eligible to sue, a spokeswoman for the property owners said Wednesday.

Nancy Palmtag, one of the owners involved in the lawsuit filed Tuesday, said the group is asking for $100,000 per owner in property damage and $100,000 per owner in mental duress. They are being represented by El Segundo attorney John Schimmenti, who specializes in lawsuits involving airplane noise and vibrations. Schimmenti is not available for comment this week because of an ongoing trial, his secretary said Wednesday.

“Our goal is to relocate the airport,” Palmtag said Wednesday. “We want to draw attention to the need for relocation and let everyone know how costly things are going to be otherwise to keep the airport (in its present location).”

Palmtag said that more than 700 property owners are expected to sue the port district as their claims for damages are rejected by the port. A claim must be filed and rejected before legal action can be taken.

“There could be suits totaling $200 million after all of them are filed,” Palmtag said, but the extent of any awards that might follow a trial would depend on how long residents have owned their properties and whether they were aware of airport flight patterns at the time of purchase.

For years, Loma Portal residents have endured airplane noise, and there have been numerous lawsuits.

In June, 1980, a San Diego Superior Court judge ruled against 180 homeowners who had been awarded $2 million in damages by a jury earlier that year, saying the suit exceeded a five-year limit for such filings, from the first day of alleged noise damage.

But a California Supreme Court ruling in September, 1985, in a Burbank Airport lawsuit over noise, said that the five-year limitation should not apply to such suits because noise is a continuing nuisance.

Port officials are waiting for copies of the suit before commenting.