Government Liability Update

Safe Water Drinking Act's Obligation for Counties to Oversee Drinking Water Systems Does Not Impose Mandatory Duty to Notify Users of Dangers

In Guzman v. County of Monterey, published today, the California Supreme Court rejected an argument that the Safe Water Drinking Act requires counties that oversee privately-owned water systems to report unsafe conditions in those water systems to the users.  The Act places that responsibility on the system owners.  The Court therefore held that the defendant county could not be held liable under Government Code section 815.6 to users exposed to water with unsafe flouride levels.

Owner of Condemned Property Not Entitle to Compensation for Goodwill unless an Ongoing Business Exists on the Condemned Property

City and County of San Franciso v. Coyne ruled that owners of a condemned parcel on which they planned to build a condo complex were not entitled to compensation for the revenue they might have received on the project.

Public Official Can Be Held Liable for Defamatory Speech

In Manufactured Home Communities, Inc. v. County of San Diego, a divided 3-judge panel of the Ninth Circuit ruled that a county supervisor who made hostile public comments about a mobilehome park owner could be held liable if the comments amounted to false statements of fact.  The appellate court reversed a district court decision granting an anti-SLAPP motion to strike the lawsuit.   The majority ruled that a jury could find some of the supervisor's statements to be false assertions of fact, rather than hyperbole or opinions.

The dissenting judge argued that the mobilehome park owner had failed to establish that any of the supervisor's statements were false; and that an anti-SLAPP motion was therefore appropriate.