Butte County DA jumps another hurdle for Oroville Dam lawsuit
1875 law could result in up to $51 billion in damages
SACRAMENTO – Another attempt by the state Department of Water Resources to have the Butte County District Attorney’s lawsuit against the department thrown out was recently thwarted.
The civil suit stems from the Oroville Dam spillway crisis and the alleged 3.4 billion to 5.1 billion pounds of debris which fell from the collapsing spillway into the Feather River in February 2017. The district attorney is prosecuting under an 1875 law which could result in up to $51 billion in damages.
As a first defense, DWR filed a demurrer, which is essentially a plea to have a case dismissed, with Butte County Superior Court and that demurrer was overruled by a judge on May 31. DWR then filed a petition against the ruling, and that petition was denied last Friday by the 3rd District Court of Appeal.
Next, lawyers on both sides will collect as much evidence as possible, during the pre-trial discovery phase.
Erin Mellon, a spokesperson for the department, said that neither the appellate court nor Work continues on the placement of structural concrete on the middle chute of the Lake Oroville main spillway during Phase 2 of the recovery effort in Butte County.
the Butte County Superior Court had made rulings on the merits of the Butte County DA’S case.
“It simply declined to review the Superior Court’s ruling at this time on whether California law allows a district attorney to file such a case at all,” Mellon said by email. “Given the appellate court’s declination to review the issue of the District Attorney’s standing on the merits at this early juncture, we will continue to move forward in the lawsuit, leaving further decisions on the issue to be determined in the future of the case.”
Butte County District Attorney Mike Ramsey somewhat disagreed with DWR’S interpretation of the rulings. He is suing under Fish and Game Code Section 5650.
“Our feeling is they did make a decision on the
merits,” Ramsey said. “Their demurrer was meritless.”
The independent forensic report, which outlined contributing factors that led to the spillway crisis, forms the basis for the lawsuit, he said, adding that its release in January was “perfect timing.” He filed his complaint on Feb. 7.
“We’re using their own report against them,” Ramsey said.
He said it would be “several months” before the parties were back in court to present their arguments to a judge. Whether the case will go to trial is still to be determined.
Court documents can be found by searching for case number 18CV00415 on the Butte County Superior Court’s website, www.buttecourt.ca.gov. The Court of Appeal case number is C087552.