Verdicts / Settlements - Defendants

Mark and Louise Copeland vs. J. Paul Getty Trust (and related Cross-Actions)

CASE NO.: SC 030 955
SETTLEMENT DATE: March 10, 1997
TOPIC: Negligence
RESULT: $96,000 (settlement); $60,000 paid by J. Paul Getty Trust and Dinwiddie Construction Co., $20,000 paid by Department of Water and Power, Waiver of fees and costs against Valley Crest Landscape Co., $4,000 paid by Doty Brothers Equipment Co., $4,000 paid by Colich and Sons, General Contractors, $4,000 paid by Murray Plumbing and Heating Co., $4,000 paid by University Mechanical & Engineering Contractors.
INJURY: Both Plaintiffs: Emotional distress, including loss of sleep off and on for 1 year 9 months. Mark: Back injury. Residuals: Loss of use of property, stigma and leaky pipes.
SPECIALS: Medical Costs: Not claimed; Loss of Earnings: Not claimed
AREA: Santa Monica
PLAINTIFF ATTORNEY: Philip H. Dunn (Dunn & Roth), Santa Monica; Robert F. Cohen (Law Office of Robert F. Cohen), Santa Monica
DEFENDANT ATTORNEY: for Getty/Dinwiddie: Gary L. Hoffman, Paul Sienski & Carlos Prietto, III, (Morris, Polich & Purdy), Orange; for Landscape Co.: Daniel A. Berman & Grace E. Jo (Wood, Smith & Henning), Los Angeles; for DWP: Eskel H. Solomon, James H. Hahn & Thomas Hokinson (City Attorney's Office), Los Angeles; for Doty Brothers: Frank Sinatra, Ill (Carlstroem & Cognata), Los Angeles; for Doty Brothers: James M. Pazos ( Knopfler and Robertson ), Woodland Hills; for Colich: Michael Lawler & Teresa A. Libertino (Murchison & Cumming), Los Angeles; for Murray: Mark Gruskin (Selman & Breitman), Los Angeles; for University: Adrian Finneran (Fredrickson, Mazeika & Grant), San Diego

Facts:

9/92 to 2/94, Plaintiffs, a 59 year old real estate broker and his 53 year old wife and school teacher, began to hear vibrations in the pipes in their house. The noise and vibration kept the Plaintiffs awake many nights. The Plaintiffs eventually traced the sound to use of a water hose at the J. Paul Getty Center construction site and to the use of the irrigation system along the eastern slope of the San Diego Freeway, not far from their home. Even when the water meter was turned off at the curb, the noise and vibration continued in the Plaintiffs' house. Plaintiff Mark Copeland regularly crawled under his house to inspect the pipes to see if any damage occurred from the vibration and consequently injured his back. The noise finally resolved when Getty retained an expert and discovered that a Clay Val pressure regulator was improperly adjusted to cause water flow that was too low and a rock was lodged in the mechanism.

Plaintif Claimed:

the noise and shaking were caused by the use of the water hookup and the irrigation system and that the hose was hooked up to a fire suppression line which use for domestic purposes was improper. Despite knowledge of the injury caused by their use, Getty and Dinwiddie continued to use the water, and failed to investigate despite the Plaintiffs' complaints. Valley Crest Landscape Company did not adjust the pressure regulator when it was installed and that Getty continued to operate the sprinkler system despite the Plaintiffs' constant complaints about the shaking and noise.

Defendants Dinwiddie and Getty Argued:

that the DWP installed a firesuppression meter instead of a domestic water meter as it requested. A clapper valve in the meter caused the chattering, and when the meter was changed to a domestic meter, the noise from use of the hose connected to it stopped. The DWP's negligence caused the rock to lodge in the ClayVal pressure regulator; the shaking caused by DWP's installation of the wrong meter caused the ClayVal to become out of adjustment, or that Valley Crest did not properly adjust the ClayVal when it was first installed.

Defendant Valley Crest Argued:

that it properly installed the ClayVal pressure regulator in or about 1989; there was no problem with it until at least 1992, after delivery to Getty and its warranty expired; therefore, it was not liable for injuries to the Plaintiffs. Getty's and Dinwiddie's persistent use of the water connected to the fire suppression line caused extreme vibration which caused the ClayVal to be out of adjustment. The pressure regulator on the Plaintiffs' house was failing, contributing to the shaking in the house pipes.

Crossdefendant Department of Water and Power Argued:

that despite installing a fire suppression meter instead of a domestic meter, at a 1989 meeting it had put Getty and Dinwiddie on notice not to use the fire suppression meter for any purpose other than fighting fires. It did everything it was able to do to investigate and resolve the Plaintiffs' problems, including changing several meters to rule out DWP equipment as the cause. Dinwiddie and Getty failed to investigate the use of its own equipment, and to heed complaints by the Plaintiffs.

Offer:

None

Demand:

Not Firm

TriService Reference No. S970240