La Conchita Ranch Co

In a move that surprised attorneys on the case, Superior Court Judge Barbara A. Lane has disqualified herself from the lawsuit filed by La Conchita property owners whose homes were destroyed by a landslide two years ago. Lane would not comment Monday on the reason for her recusal. "I really can't go into it," she said, explaining that she was barred from commenting on a pending case. "Hopefully it will be a smooth transition."

Re "Yes, There Are No Bananas: Plantation Operator, Unable to Meet Rent, Uproots a Dream," Feb. 10. I think the closing of Seaside Banana Gardens in La Conchita is very sad, not just for the beauty of the area but for the forcing out of business of a man, Doug Richardson, who appears to be the kind of person government always wants Californians to be like. Through no fault of his own--and, it appears, with no help from anyone--a good man is put in a dreadful situation. Surely a company like La Conchita Ranch Co. should be helping Mr. Richardson to get back on his feet.

Disaster struck on the afternoon of March 4, 1995. Rainfall had been heavy for days, and the 600-foot-high bluff above La Conchita, a modest beach-side community a few miles north of Ventura, was beginning to crumble. Suddenly, a slab of mountain the size of four football fields broke free like a giant mud glacier. It rumbled down from the height of a 60-story building and smashed into the Vista del Rincon neighborhood.

A jury has ruled that a ranch company's negligence helped lead to a 2005 landslide that killed 10 people in the coastal community of La Conchita. After a nearly two-month trial, the Ventura County Superior Court jury Tuesday found that the La Conchita Ranch Co. did not build a sufficient drainage system, which could have helped prevent the Jan. 10, 2005, slide that followed fierce winter storms. The slide destroyed 13 homes and damaged 23 others in La Conchita. Attorneys for the plaintiffs had argued that the ranch, which grows lemons and avocados on a hilltop overlooking the community, saturated its orchards and created a "perfect recipe" for a landslide.

A Superior Court judge tentatively ruled Friday that a farming operation was not at fault for a March 1995 landslide that dumped 600,000 tons of mud and rock on the seaside community of La Conchita. Ending a trial launched Nov. 17, Judge Henry J. Walsh ruled that irrigation of La Conchita Ranch Co.'s avocado and citrus orchard did not cause the mudslide that destroyed nine homes, damaged dozens of others and forced the evacuation of about two-thirds of the town.

More than a year after a mudslide killed 10 people and destroyed 15 homes in La Conchita, Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger on Thursday announced plans for a study to determine how to prevent future slides in the area. Homeowners have been pressing for money to stabilize the hillside in the aftermath of the Jan. 10, 2005, slide, which sent 400,000 tons of rain-soaked rock and mud into four blocks of La Conchita.

The federal agency holding the mortgage on five worthless La Conchita homes Monday filed suit against the ranch above the town, blaming ranchers for the mudslide that devastated the beach-side community. The five homeowners, who were forced to flee their badly damaged homes in the wake of the slide, have stopped making monthly payments to the Federal Home Loan Mortgage Corp. and are in default, said attorney John F. McGuire Jr.

A Ventura County judge granted a request by La Conchita property owners Monday to prioritize their lawsuit against a nearby landowner. The citrus ranch is accused of weakening the hillside above La Conchita that collapsed two years ago, destroying nine homes and damaging dozens of others. The ruling by Superior Court Judge William Peck ensures that a jury will hear the case within the next 120 days.

Re "Ranch Free of Blame in Landslide, Judge Rules," Jan. 16. And justice for all! Much of the town of La Conchita was paid off in an out-of-court settlement that left the hill crumbling and houses and debris left unmoved since the March 4, 1995, landslide. A larger portion of residents took the La Conchita Ranch Co. back to court to resolve the ongoing danger looming over us. In spite of the expert testimony that the ranch, with broken water meters, poured unknown amounts of water and watered excessively (to the point of root rot)

As residents attempt to fix blame for the deadly La Conchita landslide, legal experts say suing public agencies or even uphill neighbors is difficult unless roads, leaky pipes or other man-made conditions contributed to the collapse. "When you build on a hillside you are taking a great risk," said Tarzana attorney David B. Casselman, who has represented individuals, corporations and public agencies in landslide litigation over the last two decades.