SAN CLEMENTE : Jury: Lines Did Not Hurt Homes’ Values

In a case watched closely by the utility industry, an Orange County jury decided Friday that the values of three San Clemente homes have plummeted because of the recession, not because of high-voltage power lines running alongside the properties, as the owners had said.

Though neither side expects a reversal of that verdict, Superior Court Judge James R. Ross is scheduled to make a final ruling on Monday.

The case, which was heard in Superior Court in Fullerton, began in November, 1992, when a group of Mariner’s Point homeowners sued San Diego Gas & Electric Co. in what has become a new twist to the decades-old controversy over the purported health risk of high-voltage power lines.

Rather than contending that electromagnetic fields emitted by the power lines caused health problems, the homeowners said that the power lines destroyed their property values by scaring off potential buyers who fear there may be a link between the electromagnetic emissions and cancer.

Health concerns were raised in the Mariner’s Point neighborhood in 1990, when SDG&E; added four power lines to the seven already running alongside the properties. SDG&E; officials acknowledge that the new lines increased the capacity for more current, hence a stronger electromagnetic field.

Since the homeowners filed their lawsuit, utility industry officials nationwide have been worried that a victory in the case might unleash a torrent of similar “property value” cases against power companies.

Over the past year, all but six of the original 24 plaintiffs dropped out of the case, leaving Mark and Cheryl McCartin, Raymond Dean and Eleanor Moore, and Dave and Sandra Lammert to fight the utility company.

After the verdict Friday, the McCartins, who have four children, said they don’t expect Ross to reverse the jury’s decision. But they added that they are hopeful the judge will force SDG&E; to move the power lines or to spend about $80,000 to reconfigure them so as to reduce the magnetic field.

“I’m very disappointed with the decision,” said Mark McCartin, an emergency room physician with Kaiser Permanente who bought his $730,000, bluff-top home in 1989. “We’re just hoping the power company will begin to take into account health and property value concerns before new power lines are installed.”

The plaintiff’s attorney, Michael Withey, said he would appeal “any adverse ruling” from the judge on Monday. He declined to elaborate.

Jurors heard testimony from real estate, physics and health experts called by both sides. They were instructed by Ross to vote on nine critical questions.

One of the questions was whether the addition of the four power lines in effect rendered the homes worthless, or diminished their value.

“I think there is a growing perception now of health risks associated with power lines, but as far as the argument they can’t sell their homes . . . most of us felt that was just a result of the recession,” said one of the jurors, Benjamin Boer, 28, of Fullerton. “In fact, a lot of us felt we would buy any of the homes if we had that kind of money.”

SDG&E; officials maintain that the electric current that runs through the power lines in the San Clemente neighborhood carries the same 12,000 volts “that runs down every neighborhood street.”

“There’s absolutely nothing unique about (the homeowners’) situation except that they have a view of the Pacific on one side and Camp Pendleton on the other, with nothing to spoil the view of that except some power lines,” said Greg Barnes, an SDG&E; attorney.