News - Tharpe & Howell - Litigation and Transaction Lawyers

SETTLEMENT ACHIEVED IN MAJOR SOUTHERN CALIFORNIA LANDSLIDE CASE

Tharpe & Howell is pleased to announce its achievement of a settlement in a major Southern California landslide case. This was a unique and un-precedented settlement in a high-profile, high exposure case and came after almost six months of intense, court supervised negotiations involving numerous parties, insurers, and the City of San Clemente. According to Judge Cannon of the Orange County Superior Court Complex Division, "this was the most creative settlement" he had been involved with.

The case involved a 250 acre landslide area which destroyed a number of million-dollar homes, damaged a number of others, and threatened many other homes in the hills of San Clemente. Tharpe & Howell Partner Robert Freedman, and Associate Peter Bauman represented a neighboring homeowners association, who along with the City of San Clemente, were targeted defendants. The plaintiff's repair costs alone exceeded $12 million, with total claimed damages of approximately $20 million.

As the defendants, including our clients, vigorously contested liability, the mediator, Ross Hart, was unable to raise the money required to settle the case that would repair the homes and the canyon. Through the efforts of Mr. Freedman, and Mr. Bauman, the defense was able to create an alternative repair plan that not only reconstructed the canyon where the landslide occurred and rebuild the destroyed lots, but resulted in the creation of 24 new lots. The City has agreed to fund the creation of a new entity to perform the repairs, and will sell the new lots to recoup their money, with our client annexing the lots into its development.

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Related Attorney(s):
Peter S. Bauman
Robert M. Freedman

Related Practice Area(s):
Real Estate and Construction Law