Wachs Asks City to Settle Sewage Damage Disputes Quickly

Describing the situation as an “absolute nightmare,” Los Angeles City Councilman Joel Wachs on Tuesday called for a speedier resolution process to help residents whose homes are flooded by raw sewage because of problems in underground pipes.

“These are people who have suffered amazing damage, and the city should be bending over backward to try and help them--instead, it’s putting them through litigation hell that makes a horrible situation worse,” Wachs said at a City Hall news conference moments before introducing a motion asking the city attorney’s office to design a better system for handling sewer-related claims. “This is a city fighting its own people.”

Wachs’ motion, which sets a 30-day limit for the city attorney to design a new process for handling the liability claims, was prompted by a Times article last week describing the plight of several victims of sewage floods that were caused by problems in the city’s underground pipes. In the article, residents with as much as $50,000 in damages said city lawyers had told them it would take two to five years to resolve their claims and had challenged them to file lawsuits, saying, “We’re in the litigation business.”

“What a crappy attitude,” Wachs said Tuesday. “People with that attitude shouldn’t be working in the city.”

Senior Assistant City Atty. Dan Woodard, who heads the civil liability division, agreed, saying: “That’s certainly not our attitude.”

The Times article profiled several residents in the Hollywood Hills whose homes were flooded when tree roots grew into sewer pipes or rags blocked the pipes, causing overflow. Residents were forced from their homes for months, and lost scores of personal belongings.

Woodard said the city faces about a dozen lawsuits a year stemming from such sewer floods, and settles other cases at the claim stage.

At the press conference, Wachs suggested that the city advance flood victims the money to do immediate repairs, then resolve the liability issues through the legal process. In his motion, Wachs calls for a more compassionate process that would treat citizens with “humanity.”

“Our residents deserve better. When the city makes a mistake, it should correct it immediately,” states the motion, which will be voted on next week by the council. “No wonder so many people have grown angry with government.”

Woodard said he had just received Wachs’ motion and would review the situation, but doubted the city could advance homeowners money before analyzing the city’s possible liability.