Legal Question in Real Estate Law in California

How do you know that the boulders pose a threat to your home? Have you hired an engineer to inspect and report on the stability of the boulders? Before you can do anything about this (assuming you can do anything about this), you need to be able to prove that they actually pose a risk - not just speculation on your part. Though I have no idea what these boulders look like nor your level of expertise with matters such as this, understand that sometimes boulders are just an outcropping of rock that is actually buried feet in the ground, and are equally likely not to move in an earthquake. Again, I can't tell you what you have hanging over your house, but I can tell you that without some proof of the potential danger, nobody is going to do anything about this. I suggest you contact a geologist or engineer first and determine if there really is a threat or not.

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I used to live in the canyon and I am familiar with the boulders there. I'm not a geologist, and I don't know how long you've lived there, but in my experience 1) earthquakes that affect other parts of the Los Angeles basin usually affect the Topanga/Calabasas area only slightly, or not at all; and 2) the boulders don't move. Boulder movement is a far more significant problem as it relates to mudslides following heavy rains. However, I can understand your apprehension. Legally, I doubt you could force your uphill neighbor to move or do anything about the boulders unless you could prove the boulders are unstable. I doubt that you could do this cost-effectively, or at all. Consulting geologists are pricey, especially if you want them to testify in court. Three things you could do include 1) looking up the geological reports on your house, which are probably on file at the building department; 2) getting an informal opinion from a geologist (local real estate agents can refer you); and 3) exploring the possibility of erecting some type of steel and/or concrete barrier intended to stop or deflect oncoming boulders. But look. If a quake were bad enough to dislodge boulders you'd be adversely affected, boulders or no boulders.

After looking at a few cases located on WestLaw using search terms likely to find cases on this topic, I find little to suggest you can force the neighbor to correct the situation. Most of the cases show victims getting some relief from insurance companies, developers, cities and counties, or real estate agents/brokers.

One homeowner's attempt to have landslide-prone conditions fixed, pre-incident, seems to rely on a private nuisance theory, but failed because the alleged nuisance wasn't created or caused by the uphill neighbor.

There have also been attempts to hold the uphill neighbor liable, post-incident, on the "strict liability in tort" principle, but at least in the case or two I saw, that too was unsuccessful.

Based on this rather small amount of research, I am somewhat discouraged that you have a pre-incident remedy where you can compel the neighbor to rectify the situation at his expense, but I certainly can't say conclusively that you have no remedy. I would suggest looking locally for a lawyer with experience in this area, and also I think you should retain a well-qualified geotechnical engineer (or the like) to inspect the site and give you a written risk analysis and recommendation so you know the relative degree of danger.

Your lawyer should also look for other possibly-responsible parties, such as agents and brokers, developers, builders, inspectors, city and county, etc.