Corral Fire Victims Plan to Sue State
Attorneys for law offices filing what is
described as precedent-setting litigation, will hold a press
conference this week to announce the basis for a lawsuit
on behalf of 18 fire victims of last November’s Malibu
wildfire.
“The Corral Fire was totally
preventable. The state could have put a gate one-half mile down
the road from the caves preventing cars from going up there and
also close down the ‘rave cave’ very easily. The
cost of these preventative steps would have been minimal,
compared with the $100 million in property damage and the
devastating loss to the fire victims,” said James Devitt,
whose law offices Devitt & Chelberg, in conjunction with
two other Los Angeles law firms, represent the victims.
The lawsuit seeks a court order installing
a gate at the end of Corral Canyon Road to prevent partying in
the area. The litigation is based on allegations of dangerous
conditions on public property and that the state Department of
Parks and Recreation admits prior knowledge that the cave was a
trouble spot.
There have been $30 million in claims filed
against the state so far, according to the law firm.
