County is free of liability in slide

Weeks into trial, Ventura County has been deemed free of liability in the 2005 mudslide that killed 10 people, officials said Tuesday.

In a settlement whose details have not been made public, La Conchita residents and the relatives of some who died agreed to drop their claims against the county, and the county agreed not to pursue recovery of its legal costs, said county counsel Noel Klebaum.

Expected to last several months, the wrongful-death trial in Ventura County Superior Court is continuing against La Conchita Ranch Co. The ranchers are accused of contributing to the catastrophic slide by failing to provide adequate drainage for their orchards, which sit on a bluff above the community.

Superior Court Judge Vincent O’Neill has imposed a gag order on attorneys in the case.