Mudslide Lawsuit Headed for Court

More than a year and a half after a mudslide ravaged their property, a Studio City couple still is trying to dig out.

Joe and Ruth Lenorovitz have filed a negligence lawsuit against a neighbor who built a 10,000-square-foot mansion up the hill from them. The couple says grading during the construction of the house created conditions ripe for a slide.

Pat Damudar, the owner of the house, has previously denied the Lenorovitzes’ claims. Damudar could not be reached for comment Tuesday.

In January 1995, mud flowing down the hillside pushed over a fence at the Lenorovitz property and filled the backyard, including the swimming pool. Ruth Lenorovitz said some repairs have been made, but about $10,000 worth of work remains.

She said the Santa Monica Mountains Conservancy, which owns much of the hillside property that connects the homeowners’ lots, also bears some responsibility for the damage. On Monday night, she showed photos of the mudslide to the conservancy board at its monthly meeting.

While sympathetic, the conservancy said budgetary concerns would prevent the agency from helping out.

“A public entity is not liable for a natural condition,” said conservancy counsel Laurie Collins, especially when that entity controls open space unaltered by development.

“I’m not a geologist, so I don’t know exactly what happened,” Collins added, “but it did happen right after this construction started.”

Ruth Lenorovitz said she was disappointed that the conservancy took no action, especially with the rainy season approaching,

“I don’t sleep nights because I have visions of something worse coming,” she said.

Collins said the conservancy last fall offered to install plastic sheets that would help prevent slides, if the Lenorovitzes paid for the plastic. The couple declined.

The Lenorovitzes initially opposed the development of the mansion, saying it was too big for the area and possibly unsafe.

The two parties spoke amicably on the day of the slide, but are still scheduled to meet in court Oct. 7.