San Jose to pay $750,000 to victims of the disastrous 2017 Coyote Creek flood [Mercury News]

Nov. 18—Hoping to put one of the city's worst natural disasters behind them, San Jose leaders this week quietly approved a $750,000 settlement for a group of about 240 renters and homeowners who suffered losses in the disastrous 2017 Coyote Creek flood.

The settlement, which was unanimously approved by the city council Tuesday night without any discussion, comes nearly four years after residents , the Santa Clara Valley Water District and Santa Clara County, alleging that the entities failed to adequately warn them of the impending flood, were aware that obstacles such as debris and sediment impeded the flow of water through the creek channel and did little to prevent or reduce the damage it caused.

Santa Clara County was later dismissed from the case. The lawsuit against Santa Clara Valley Water District is still active with a trial date set for May 2, 2022.

"After nearly four years of litigation, we're satisfied that the case with San Jose has resolved," said Anne Kepner, the lead attorney representing the renters and homeowners. "And now, we're preparing our case for trial as to the water district."

Attempts to reach a joint settlement with the Santa Clara Valley Water District — also known as Valley Water — and the residents who filed the lawsuit were unsuccessful, so San Jose chose to move forward with its own agreement, according to San Jose city attorney Nora Frimann. Although San Jose officials opted to settle the case, Frimann said the city denies all allegations of negligence and wrongdoing.

In a memo to the city council, she said that the city risked being held accountable for a much higher dollar amount if it did not decide to settle the case before it went to trial.

"The settlement of $750,000 is reasonable given the cost and risks of further litigation," Frimann wrote in the memo. "Plaintiff's claimed economic property damages total approximately $12.6 million based on written discovery responses. ...Even if the city was found nominally liable at trial, such a verdict could mean that the city was responsible for payment of the entire amount of the claimed economic damages."

When Coyote Creek flooded in February 2017 following heavy atmospheric river storms, it was the worst flood San Jose had seen since 1997, forcing 14,000 people to evacuate and causing an estimated $100 million in total damage.

During that rain event, Anderson Reservoir — the largest reservoir in Santa Clara County — filled to the top, causing water to pour over and surge above the banks of Coyote Creek, which is one of two main waterways that run through San Jose. As water flooded into neighborhoods surrounding the creek, including Rock Springs, Naglee Park and the South Bay Mobile Home Park, some people had to be rescued from their homes by boat.

San Jose officials, who faced sharp criticism for not evacuating residents sooner, acknowledged a breakdown in communication the day of the flood, which hit on the Tuesday after a long President's Day weekend.

Sandra Moll, a Naglee Park resident, was displaced from her home for three weeks and suffered damages estimated in the "hundreds of thousands of dollars" after 6 feet of water inundated her home that night. Moll said Wednesday that she was "glad to be moving forward and getting some conclusion to all of this."

"It's just time to get everyone doing what they need to do to make sure this doesn't happen again," she added.

Moll said she felt that Valley Water was the "most culpable" for the damage caused by the flood.

"I hope that because of the terms of this settlement, it will encourage the water district to settle also," she said. "But I have my doubts that they will do that."

Valley Water is seeking to have the court decide the case without a trial. Their motion will be heard on January 10, 2022. The court has also ordered settlement conferences in January and March in an effort to wrap the case up prior to the May 2022 trial date.

Matt Keller, a spokesperson for Valley Water, said in a statement that it was "unfortunate that some have had to deal with the flooding and a long legal process."

"Valley Water would like this process to end as quickly and fairly as possible," he said.

While the water district has not yet cut a deal with the 240 homeowners and renters involved in this case, in June 2019 the agency of roughly 200 other families and individuals who suffered losses of $5,000 or less and were not represented by attorneys. Most of those claims were filed by low-income residents, many of whom were Vietnamese-American immigrants who did not have insurance and in some cases, spoke little English, according to a community group that assisted them with the claims.

Since the flood of 2017, the city and water district have taken numerous steps aimed at preventing another disaster like this in the future.

The city hired a new emergency services director, purchased mobile loudspeakers and, in collaboration with the water district, implemented a new color-coded system to better coordinate flood warnings.

For its part, the water district in December 2017 installed an interim floodwall and embankment along Coyote Creek in the Rock Springs community. More recently, the district also has been holding community meetings about its . Valley Water plans to design and construct improvements, such as berms and permanent floodwalls, along approximately nine miles of Coyote Creek, between Montague Expressway and Tully Road, to reduce the risk of flooding to homes, schools, businesses and highways in the creek's floodplain.

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