Soledad Mountain Road is collapsed and several homes are damaged or destroyed by a landslide on Mount Soledad in La Jolla. JOHN GIBBINS / Union-Tribune
Failures

Judge Rules City of San Diego Not Responsible for Mt. Soledad Landslide in 2007

Soledad Mountain Road is collapsed and several homes are damaged or destroyed by a landslide on Mount Soledad in La Jolla. JOHN GIBBINS / Union-TribuneThe Mt. Soledad Landslide in a La Jolla California neighborhood destroyed 3 houses and damaged others and it also shut down Mt. Soledad Road for an entire year after it occurred in October of 2007. Residents blamed the city of San Diego, and 65 homeowners filed suit, claiming that leaking pipes caused the landslide and the City should cover damages.

Last week, a superior court judge ruled in favor of the City of San Diego. So far I have not seen anything indicating if the residents plan to appeal the ruling.

One interesting note regarding the trial, the City released an 8-minute cell phone video taken by a geotechnical engineer or drilling contractor employed by the City that showed the road cracking and buckling just prior to failure. The homeowners used the video to try to make their own case. Click through for a portion of the video and a link to the full one.

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