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Jan. 11, 2008
Copyright © Las Vegas Review-Journal

Homeowner sues over canal breach, alleges negligence

Failure to turn off valve among accusations

By RYAN NAKASHIMA
THE ASSOCIATED PRESS

A woman whose home was flooded after an irrigation canal ruptured in Northern Nevada filed a negligence lawsuit Thursday against the canal's operator, local governments and home builders.

Judy Kroshus alleged that developers never told her of a December 1996 flood in the Fernley area, about 35 miles east of Reno, and that local government officials did not have an adequate emergency plan in place before she took out a loan and bought a home there in 2002.

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    • Kroshus also alleged the canal operator, the Truckee-Carson Irrigation District, failed to stem the flow of water during a powerful Jan. 5 storm, a failure she said contributed to the canal breach.

    The rupture flooded hundreds of homes.

    "Inadequate maintenance of that canal is what resulted in the breach," said Kroshus' lawyer, Robert Hager, after filing the lawsuit in Washoe County District Court in Reno.

    "The failure to turn off the valve, for three hours after the canal was breached ... greatly increased the quantity of water that was spread throughout the homes."

    Ernest Schank, president of the irrigation district, said canal managers responded as quickly as possible.

    "We responded within 20 minutes," he said.

    "You have to realize that if the canal is full, there's going to be water that continues to come even after you shut it off. We did everything in our power to shut it off immediately."

    Kroshus' lawsuit, which seeks class-action status and invites other homeowners to take part, also names as defendants the city of Fernley, Lyon County and developers CRCH Ltd. and other real estate developers. The lawsuit alleges they failed to notify new buyers of the potential risk.

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    oldlawdawg wrote on January 11, 2008 06:02 PM: If the allegations regarding a failure to disclose and a failure to have adequate contingency plans after the 1996 "event" are true, this lawsuit should shed light on a great deal of
    "shaddy deals" between developers and local pols as 1996 was a significant event that no doubt placed county and local governments on notice of conditions and the need for safety plans before further development, all of which played a part in that damn ditch. The history of Washoe County's knowledege and decisions pertaining to hydrology, and the apparent willingness of former cheif hydorologist Peggy Bowker to be an apologist rather than a planner, has long been known to many, and was quietly demonstrated by the removal of a flood berm and widening of the Andrew Lane Bridge just outside of Reno, in spite of Bowker's findings based upon the specious Andrew Lane Bridge Study. This newest tragedy should not have happened, but it did because some hydrological expert or another opined as to what the developers and certain "pocket pols" wanted rather than as to the real conditions and risks were. I hope this action stirs up a real political storm in Washoe County, where a very unique brand of "water politics" gets played that would make Clark County corruption blush out of pure naivety. UNless something happens now, this won't be the last tragedy as large scale events can be exepcted in Washo County every 6-10 years, almost like clockwork, while the county itself avoids truly responsible planning -- planning that would cost developers far more than is currently the case -- by commissioning yet another flood event survey or another even though the county is already buried in them running back 20+ years.


    SJ wrote on January 11, 2008 01:45 PM: Ooh, can I take part in the class-action suit? I don't live up there but I saw it on the news and it really ruined my day! Pain and suffering?

    Wow, that was fast... there's already lawyers lined up at my door!!


    Rodman wrote on January 11, 2008 01:20 PM: JUDY, Call the heavy hitter.I know he will get your money because he says so on tv.


    Rodman wrote on January 11, 2008 01:17 PM: JUDY, all the heavy hitter.


    GJ wrote on January 11, 2008 12:37 PM: Apparently not everyone is waiting for the slime to be removed before the lawyers slither in.


    Lee Yarbrough wrote on January 11, 2008 06:52 AM: Read the article. She has already found an attorney to file this one. In Nevada you can always find an attorney, just swing a bat and you will hit one willing to file a suit for you.

    Once again people are going to sue the Taxpayers of this state since the government is the taxpayers. No one believes nature or accidents happen, it is always someone else's fault and time to try to get rich. Suing has become the American way and people wonder why this country is heading for the toilet.


    bobby luker wrote on January 11, 2008 03:36 AM: can the local governments get enough money out of Judy Kroshus to repair the canal? and her lawyer if she finds one stupid enough to take the case?