Court Refuses to Dismiss Pair From Dunes Suit

A jury must decide whether the former owners of land that eventually became the Oxnard Dunes subdivision adequately disclosed hazardous substances in the soil, an appeals court has ruled.

The 2nd District Court of Appeal in Los Angeles ruled last week that John McGrath and Thomas McGrath Jr. are not entitled to a summary judgment that would have dismissed them as defendants in a suit filed by Oxnard Dunes residents. The appeals court upheld a similar ruling by Ventura County Superior Court Judge Melinda A. Johnson.

The McGraths are descendants of pioneer farmer Dominick McGrath, the original owner of much of the land that is now Oxnard.

Under the ruling, all of the major defendants originally named in the suit will still be part of the case when trial begins Aug. 5. Other defendants include the operators of a former dump on the site, the city of Oxnard and the Oxnard Shores Co., which built the Oxnard Dunes subdivision.

The suit, which was filed by 175 residents in 1986 and seeks $3.5 billion in damages, says that the soil contains hazardous wastes and that the defendants failed to notify the home buyers. The defendants have denied that the land poses any hazard.

The case has been billed as the largest ever filed in Ventura County. Fred Rucker, an attorney for some of the plaintiffs, said the trial is expected to last at least two years.