The Region : 83 Oxnard Residents Sue

Eighty-three Oxnard residents filed a $1-billion damage suit against state and local government agencies and developers after learning that their homes are built over a former oil waste dump. The Ventura County Superior Court suit came one year after a soil test found traces of oil and oil waste byproducts, including benzene, a known cancer-causing agent. The test results led to the disclosure that the land had been used as an oil waste dump between 1955 and 1962. Plaintiffs’ attorney Conrad G. Tuohey said homeowners have suffered financial losses as well as emotional distress and health concerns. Oxnard City Atty. Duane Lyders said the suit is “entirely without merit and substance.” The city was named as a defendant, as were Ventura County, the state Department of Health Services, the state Regional Water Quality Control Board, Humacid-MacLeod Co., which leased the land from Dominick McGrath Estate Co. to operate the disposal facility, and Oxnard Shores Co.