City settles flood suit for $1.4 million City settles flood suit for $1.4 million (January 14, 2004)

By Andrea Gemmet

Almanac Staff Writer

The flood waters have long since receded, but the lawsuit over damages caused by the San Francisquito Creek in 1998 has only recently been settled.

In a mediated settlement announced January 8, the city of Menlo Park agreed to pay $1.4 million to one business owner and 27 homeowners, four of whom live in Menlo Park. The city of Palo Alto is also part of the settlement, and is paying $2.1 million.

The cities have joint jurisdiction over the Middlefield Road and Pope/Chaucer streets bridges, which acted as dams blocking rising creek waters during a fierce winter storm February 3, 1998, according to the lawsuit.

The flooding sent up to 3 feet of dirty water into homes, ruining carpets and damaging walls, furniture, bedding -- even shoes in closets, said Joyce Mendlin, the attorney for the property owners.

"It had sewage in it, so it was very dirty water. If it had been clean water, things could have been saved," she said.

The Menlo Park homeowners on Woodland Court lost a portion of their yards when the creek bank failed, she said.

Although the lawsuit sought a court order to force the cities to replace both bridges, the settlement does not include that provision, said Bill Mayfield, Palo Alto's senior assistant city attorney.

Menlo Park City Attorney Bill McClure said that the expense of trying a case with so many plaintiffs, including paying for expert witnesses and doing hydrological testing, would have been astronomical.

"The bottom line is that it made more economic sense to settle," Mr. McClure said.

San Mateo County was also named in the suit, because when the Pope/Chaucer streets bridge was rebuilt in 1948, Menlo Park was not incorporated, said Ms. Mendlin. On Monday, January 12, the county made a settlement offer, but the plaintiffs had not yet decided whether to accept it, she said.

The settlement money will be divided up by a steering committee of five property owners, she said.

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