PTWWW - Palmieri, Tyler, Wiener, Wilhelm, & Waldron
Anaheim Homeowners Win Major Court Victory v. Caltrans
In February 2010, homeowners of the two remaining residences on Circle Haven Road in Anaheim won a victory in court against the State of California Department of Transportation, entitling them to be paid for damage they had alleged the State caused to their homes. After a landslide in the State's slope occurred eighty feet away in March 2005, the homeowners sued the State in inverse condemnation and for nuisance. The homeowners claimed that the State created a condition of progressive failure in the slope below their homes by cutting into the toe of the slope to build and expand the 55 freeway and the 55/91 interchange. The State had denied any liability or that its slope posed any threat to the homeowners' residences.
After a two-week trial heard by the court without jury, the court sided with the homeowners and issued a decision against the State. The court ruled that the State is liable to the homeowners for physical damage that first appeared on the residential properties in March 2005, around the time of the landslide. The homeowners proved that the damage to their homes was permanent and continuing and posed a risk of human injury. It is expected that the homeowners will now recover the total loss in value they believe they suffered as a result of the State's slope.
The homes are located on Circle Haven Road, situated on a slope that ascends from the 55 freeway and Santiago Boulevard, both State highways. The State owns and maintains the slope, which extends from Nohl Ranch Road to the west to Nohl Canyon Road immediately to the east of the homes. The homeowners proved that, over time, the State has destabilized the slope, endangering the homeowners' properties, by cutting into the toe of the slope. Partner Ronald Cole successfully tried the cases against the State.