L.A. Liable for Lopez Canyon Odors : Small Claims Ruling Awards $501 to Dump’s Neighbor

A San Fernando small claims court judge Tuesday ordered the city of Los Angeles to pay a Kagel Canyon resident $501 in damages for noxious gases blown into his home from the nearby Lopez Canyon Landfill, a decision the disgruntled neighbor said will encourage dozens more such lawsuits.

Municipal Court Judge Pro Tem Robert Keimach ordered the city Bureau of Sanitation to pay Rob Zapple, a critic of Lopez Canyon, $1 for suffering, and $500 in punitive damages for failing to install a gas collection system that would prevent the fumes from drifting into the nearby residential neighborhood.

A jubilant Zapple, who claimed that his home and environment had been harmed by foul-smelling gases from the landfill, hailed the decision and said that as many as 100 more Kagel Canyon residents may file similar small claims suits in order to bring pressure on the Bureau of Sanitation to close the landfill.

Not Binding on Others

Keimach pointed out, however, that Zapple’s victory “means absolutely nothing on future lawsuits, because it is not binding on any other judges or on any other cases I might hear.”

In 1981, 116 homeowners near the San Francisco Airport filed small claims lawsuits against the city of San Francisco, claiming that noise from the airport caused them undue suffering. They won damages, prompting more lawsuits from other neighbors.

Eventually, Zapple said, their efforts led officials to close two runways during night hours.

It was a small legal victory for Lopez Canyon opponents on the same day when the city won a major legal battle in defense of the dump. A Los Angeles Superior Court judge barred state officials from scaling back trash dumping at the landfill, saying the state had based its order on a vague and outdated document.

But Zapple, carrying on the fight by the dump’s neighbors, said he hopes the strategy of many small lawsuits will persuade city officials to close the Lopez Canyon Landfill rather than expand it, because foul odors “inundate the neighborhood on an ever more increasing basis.”

“This is the first time that the courts have upheld that the landfill has been an ongoing public nuisance, that they are defiling our environment,” Zapple said. “This is a major victory for our community--it shows the city cannot run willy-nilly over us.”

However, Deputy City Atty. Chris Westhoff, who represents the Bureau of Sanitation, said the bureau will appeal the decision to Superior Court.

“That is a ridiculous ruling,” Westhoff said. “We are obviously going to appeal. I have no doubt that we will win.”

But he conceded that city officials could spend many hours in court if Kagel Canyon residents do file many small claims suits. “If they want to spend their time doing that, we will spend our time defending it,” Westhoff said.

$2,000 Sought

Zapple won only a fraction of the $2,000 in damages he sought from the city because he failed to prove his contention that the fumes were a health hazard--a contention which Bureau of Sanitation engineer Edward Ostrowski denied.

“It has never been shown that Lopez Canyon is a public health hazard,” Ostrowski said.

However Keimach said he felt Zapple’s living conditions had been harmed by the fumes, and said he fined officials because “the city had not acted properly” after residents began complaining.

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