Homeowners File Suit Against Merv Griffin Ranch, TransWest Housing and Kemper Insurance for Damage to Health and Home Caused by Fugitive Dust
February 20, 2007
MarketWire
La Quinta, CA. – Homeowners Richard and Linda von Hurst, along with their son Dane, have hired The Quisenberry Law Firm to sue those involved with the development of Griffin Ranch. The von Hursts have suffered damage to their home, personal property and health due to fugitive dust, a form of PM10 pollution, allegedly created during the development of the nearby Ranch.
The von Hurst home neighbors the approximately 200 acre parcel of land that is being developed into Griffin Ranch. The project began in November 2005. Since that time, the von Hursts allege that defendants have failed to comply with various codes designed to protect citizens from fugitive dust including La Quinta Municipal Code Chapters 6, 8 and 13. Defendants’ alleged violations range from failing to create an approved Fugitive Dust Plan, to having an insufficient number of water trucks and an inability to rapidly refill trucks, to not watering or stabilizing roads and the work area. As a result of these alleged actions, the von Hurst home has repeatedly been covered in thick layers of dust. To illustrate the injustices suffered by the von Hursts, on New Year’s Day 2006, Mrs. von Hurst was cooking brunch in her kitchen while clumps of dust fell through the stove vent onto the meal she was preparing for her family, a meal that became impossible and unhealthy to eat. Permanent damage has also been sustained by many items other than the kitchen stove and vent system, such as the stucco on the home, the pool filtration system and the air conditioning system, and the automobiles parked in the driveway. On occasion, the “dust storms” caused by defendants’ alleged failure to abide by City regulations and to use the acceptable standard of care have caused a whiteout in the von Hursts’ neighborhood, limiting visibility to about 20%.
Members of the von Hurst family have also suffered health issues, including severe respiratory ailments, related to the inhalation of dust. Fugitive dust is particulate matter suspended in the air. Particulate matter that is smaller than 10 microns in diameter (known as PM10) is most dangerous to human health, and about half of fugitive dust particles are PM10 particles. When inhaled, these particles can travel deep into the lungs and stay there, causing respiratory illness, lung damage and even premature death in sensitive individuals. Businesses that cause enough dust to induce nearby residents to complain are subject to Section 41700 of the Health & Safety Code of California. (See http://www.arb.ca.gov/cap/handbooks/fugitivedustsmall.pdf for these and other facts on fugitive dust.) The local Air Pollution Control District has primary authority to regulate these businesses, and to create Fugitive Dust Rules, as La Quinta did in its Municipal Code. It is allegedly these rules that neither those involved with developing Griffin Ranch have followed, nor has the City of La Quinta enforced, even though they have received many complaints from residents.
Included in this lawsuit is a claim by the von Hursts against their property insurer, Kemper Independence Insurance Company. Under the insurance contract, Kemper had the duty to pay the von Hursts for damage to their property but failed to do so. Kemper’s alleged unreasonable interpretation of its own policy, and its failure to fully investigate the von Hursts’ claim gave rise to a bad faith cause of action as well.
