Legal Question in Real Estate Law in California

Property Flooding

I live in Oakdale Ca. 95361. We live on a county road. Our house was next to a grape vineyard. A developer came in and is putting in house's. He graded the land that goes around my property, about 12'' higher than my land. In fact he piled the dirt 12'' up on the side of my fence. I spoke with him in person about this problem, and that when it rains, the water will flood my property. He said he would take care of it before winter. Well he did not do anything, and when it rained the water came off his development and flooded onto my property. I wrote him a letter telling him what happened, he tried to take steps to stop it from happening again. It rained and it flooded me out again. No real damage except for the dirt and mud that was all over my yard. Did take me many hours to clean up. I complained to him in a letter agian. He said he would take care of it. Well he did not and it rained again and this time it put my garage under 2'' of water flooded my RV driveway which is over 100' long, under 3'' of water and it flooded my workshop under 2'' of water. Now I want to sue the developer for damages, and the clean up.And would like to also sue for punitive damages. What type of lawyer would I need? And how much could I sue for? ThanksEd


Asked on 3/21/05, 1:38 am

1 Answer from Attorneys
Philip Iadevaia Law Offices of Philip A. Iadevaia

Re: Property Flooding

You would need a good trial lawyer. This developer obviously ignored you and will not do anything to fix the problem he caused. He may have violated land mangement rules or other building/grading rules by improperly grading or not taking your property into account. The cost may be covered by your homeowner's insurance. I would check that out. Otherwise, a lawuit may or may not cost a significant amount. You could sue for the cost of fixing the problem as well as property damages. PUnitive damages would be a stretch without further research. Call me for a referral or to discuss this more. (310) 806-9237. Good luck. ---Phil

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Answered on 3/21/05, 10:58 am


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