Legal Question in Real Estate Law in California

I live in a hilly neighborhood in Los Angeles. There is a 6' retaining wall that runs along the entire length of my property (120'), and separates my property from the neighbors up the hill. The wall is old and needs to be replaced - it is cracked and failing in several places and will inevitably fall. The neighbor's trees are also contributing to the problem, as the roots are pushing against the wall and undermining it's structural integrity. When it falls, the structure will come down onto my property.

The neighbor is aware of the problem and is willing to fix it, but neither the neighbor or I knew whose land the wall technically was on. We agreed that it was important to get a surveyor to come out and determine who "owns" the wall. As it turns out, the wall is 100% on my neighbors property.

I would assume then, as it's on their property, that it is their sole responsibility to repair and maintain the wall. They are insisting that the cost to replace the wall be split 50/50. I would be willing to contribute something financially to repair the wall (it's and eyesore and brings the value of my home down) but I don't agree that I should be splitting the cost with them.

Legally and financially, what am I responsible for in terms of replacing the wall? If they decide not to address the problem and the wall fails and damages my property, are they liable for the damages?

Thank you for your time.


Asked on 4/18/10, 9:31 am

1 Answer from Attorneys

I actually worked on a case similar to this when I was a Deputy City Attorney for the City and County of San Francisco. Only in that case it was drainage ditches that kept water out of the hillside, and they failed, sending an entire hillside into the neighborhood below when heavy rains saturated the hill, and leaving the neighborhood above with radically smaller back yards. Fortunately the City was not actually responsible, because the drainage system was on private land, among other reasons. Unfortunately, the private owner was bankrupt. So the answer to your direct question is, it is entirely your neighbor's responsibility. The moral of my story, however, is that it will do you no good if he is responsible, when his hill is in your house and he can't afford to pay for the damage. Also, unless you have very unusual coverages, neither of you will have insurance coverage for earth movement.

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Answered on 4/23/10, 9:53 am


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