Anchor ads are not supported on this page.

4S Ranch Allied Gardens Alpine Baja Balboa Park Bankers Hill Barrio Logan Bay Ho Bay Park Black Mountain Ranch Blossom Valley Bonita Bonsall Borrego Springs Boulevard Campo Cardiff-by-the-Sea Carlsbad Carmel Mountain Carmel Valley Chollas View Chula Vista City College City Heights Clairemont College Area Coronado CSU San Marcos Cuyamaca College Del Cerro Del Mar Descanso Downtown San Diego Eastlake East Village El Cajon Emerald Hills Encanto Encinitas Escondido Fallbrook Fletcher Hills Golden Hill Grant Hill Grantville Grossmont College Guatay Harbor Island Hillcrest Imperial Beach Imperial Valley Jacumba Jamacha-Lomita Jamul Julian Kearny Mesa Kensington La Jolla Lakeside La Mesa Lemon Grove Leucadia Liberty Station Lincoln Acres Lincoln Park Linda Vista Little Italy Logan Heights Mesa College Midway District MiraCosta College Miramar Miramar College Mira Mesa Mission Beach Mission Hills Mission Valley Mountain View Mount Hope Mount Laguna National City Nestor Normal Heights North Park Oak Park Ocean Beach Oceanside Old Town Otay Mesa Pacific Beach Pala Palomar College Palomar Mountain Paradise Hills Pauma Valley Pine Valley Point Loma Point Loma Nazarene Potrero Poway Rainbow Ramona Rancho Bernardo Rancho Penasquitos Rancho San Diego Rancho Santa Fe Rolando San Carlos San Marcos San Onofre Santa Ysabel Santee San Ysidro Scripps Ranch SDSU Serra Mesa Shelltown Shelter Island Sherman Heights Skyline Solana Beach Sorrento Valley Southcrest South Park Southwestern College Spring Valley Stockton Talmadge Temecula Tierrasanta Tijuana UCSD University City University Heights USD Valencia Park Valley Center Vista Warner Springs

They wanted money to soundproof 35,000 homes beneath Lindbergh Field's flight path.

Lawsuit ends, noise continues

By the time you hear the noise, it's too late to sue - Image by Byron Pepper
By the time you hear the noise, it's too late to sue

The loudest lawsuit in San Diego is about to end, not with a bang, but with a whisper. The Point Loma residents who in 1986 sued the port district over noise at Lindbergh Field have quietly capitulated. They ran out of money for lawyers and consultants.

Under the terms of the proposed truce, the port district will continue to promote an alternative to Lindbergh Field and will soundproof one home and a few schools. In return, the Airport Coalition agreed not to ask for a safety study on airport operations and to suspend its lawsuit for three years. If at the end of that time, both sides have lived up to the agreement, the legal action will be dismissed.

The proposed settlement is far from the $160 million the Airport Coalition originally sought. Coalition lawyers, however, are putting a happy face on the settlement, which is due to come before the port commissioners within a month. However, except for soundproofing a single home, other provisions of the agreement are actions the port district is already taking — mostly with federal money. The port has planned to soundproof Loma Portal Elementary School this summer at a cost of $1.2 million, $800,000 of which is coming from the Federal Aviation Administration. And if that source of cash dries up, so do the Port’s promises. “Actual construction would depend on the availability of... [federal] funding,” says Michael Gatzke, attorney for the port.

Sponsored
Sponsored

Pending formal port approval, port spokesman Dan Wilkens would neither confirm nor deny the settlement. John Turner, attorney for the coalition, said that 98 percent of the 300 plaintiffs still active in the suit voted to approve the deal. “That’s right, and we didn’t get anything,” said A.J. Mates, one of the plaintiffs in the lawsuit. “It’s pretty disappointing but probably the best that can be hoped for.”

When the first lawsuits were filed against the port in 1986, 1200 families in 12 legal actions were claiming damages for airport noise. By the following year, a judge dismissed 500 of the complaints and the rest were consolidated into a single suit. Mates and others who live under the flight path claimed that airport noise was damaging to their health and to the value of their homes in Point Loma, Golden Hill, and Mission Beach. Port officials replied that the noise was not as harmful as residents said and argued that most knew about the noise when they moved near the flight path.

By 1990, the port offered to settle the suit for $50,000 in attorneys’ fees. Coalition lawyers thought this was a great idea, but members of the Airport Coalition said no, possibly dreaming of the $200,000 per family payoff they had demanded.

With the trial scheduled to begin in July, negotiations intensified earlier this year. The coalition wanted money to soundproof about 35,000 homes in the 2.7-square-mile area beneath the flight path, where airport noise exceeded federal guidelines by 20 decibels. Port officials rejected the plan, saying it would cost between $200 million and $300 million.

At that point some members of the coalition began to worry about what would happen if they lost the case and then had to pay the port hundreds of thousands of dollars in legal fees. So last month, the deal was cut. Members of the Airport Coalition received a letter from Turner telling them that “substantial progress” had been made in the negotiations and that it was time to settle. But Turner’s optimism could not obscure the real reason behind the settlement: in poker, it’s called put up or shut up.

“We must advise you that [you] are not in a strong position to go forward with a trial,” Turner explained to his clients. “As you may recall, we attempted to raise $100,000 per year to cover expert witnesses, consultants, and to retain the services of the Washington, D.C. law firm Cutler and Stanfield to assist in the litigation. Unfortunately, only $50,000 has been raised during the past two years.”

Angry homeowners had kicked in most of the money. The rest was raised at fundraisers, including a bake sale. But the coalition was short by $150,000. Earlier this month, members of the coalition voted to accept the port's offer, putting them back where they started in 1986.

The latest copy of the Reader

Please enjoy this clickable Reader flipbook. Linked text and ads are flash-highlighted in blue for your convenience. To enhance your viewing, please open full screen mode by clicking the icon on the far right of the black flipbook toolbar.

Here's something you might be interested in.
Submit a free classified
or view all
Previous article

Jazz guitarist Alex Ciavarelli pays tribute to pianist Oscar Peterson

“I had to extract the elements that spoke to me and realize them on my instrument”
By the time you hear the noise, it's too late to sue - Image by Byron Pepper
By the time you hear the noise, it's too late to sue

The loudest lawsuit in San Diego is about to end, not with a bang, but with a whisper. The Point Loma residents who in 1986 sued the port district over noise at Lindbergh Field have quietly capitulated. They ran out of money for lawyers and consultants.

Under the terms of the proposed truce, the port district will continue to promote an alternative to Lindbergh Field and will soundproof one home and a few schools. In return, the Airport Coalition agreed not to ask for a safety study on airport operations and to suspend its lawsuit for three years. If at the end of that time, both sides have lived up to the agreement, the legal action will be dismissed.

The proposed settlement is far from the $160 million the Airport Coalition originally sought. Coalition lawyers, however, are putting a happy face on the settlement, which is due to come before the port commissioners within a month. However, except for soundproofing a single home, other provisions of the agreement are actions the port district is already taking — mostly with federal money. The port has planned to soundproof Loma Portal Elementary School this summer at a cost of $1.2 million, $800,000 of which is coming from the Federal Aviation Administration. And if that source of cash dries up, so do the Port’s promises. “Actual construction would depend on the availability of... [federal] funding,” says Michael Gatzke, attorney for the port.

Sponsored
Sponsored

Pending formal port approval, port spokesman Dan Wilkens would neither confirm nor deny the settlement. John Turner, attorney for the coalition, said that 98 percent of the 300 plaintiffs still active in the suit voted to approve the deal. “That’s right, and we didn’t get anything,” said A.J. Mates, one of the plaintiffs in the lawsuit. “It’s pretty disappointing but probably the best that can be hoped for.”

When the first lawsuits were filed against the port in 1986, 1200 families in 12 legal actions were claiming damages for airport noise. By the following year, a judge dismissed 500 of the complaints and the rest were consolidated into a single suit. Mates and others who live under the flight path claimed that airport noise was damaging to their health and to the value of their homes in Point Loma, Golden Hill, and Mission Beach. Port officials replied that the noise was not as harmful as residents said and argued that most knew about the noise when they moved near the flight path.

By 1990, the port offered to settle the suit for $50,000 in attorneys’ fees. Coalition lawyers thought this was a great idea, but members of the Airport Coalition said no, possibly dreaming of the $200,000 per family payoff they had demanded.

With the trial scheduled to begin in July, negotiations intensified earlier this year. The coalition wanted money to soundproof about 35,000 homes in the 2.7-square-mile area beneath the flight path, where airport noise exceeded federal guidelines by 20 decibels. Port officials rejected the plan, saying it would cost between $200 million and $300 million.

At that point some members of the coalition began to worry about what would happen if they lost the case and then had to pay the port hundreds of thousands of dollars in legal fees. So last month, the deal was cut. Members of the Airport Coalition received a letter from Turner telling them that “substantial progress” had been made in the negotiations and that it was time to settle. But Turner’s optimism could not obscure the real reason behind the settlement: in poker, it’s called put up or shut up.

“We must advise you that [you] are not in a strong position to go forward with a trial,” Turner explained to his clients. “As you may recall, we attempted to raise $100,000 per year to cover expert witnesses, consultants, and to retain the services of the Washington, D.C. law firm Cutler and Stanfield to assist in the litigation. Unfortunately, only $50,000 has been raised during the past two years.”

Angry homeowners had kicked in most of the money. The rest was raised at fundraisers, including a bake sale. But the coalition was short by $150,000. Earlier this month, members of the coalition voted to accept the port's offer, putting them back where they started in 1986.

Comments
Sponsored

The latest copy of the Reader

Please enjoy this clickable Reader flipbook. Linked text and ads are flash-highlighted in blue for your convenience. To enhance your viewing, please open full screen mode by clicking the icon on the far right of the black flipbook toolbar.

Here's something you might be interested in.
Submit a free classified
or view all
Previous article

Jayson Napolitano’s Scarlet Moon releases third Halloween album

Latest effort has the most local vibe
Next Article

Wild Wild Wets, Todo Mundo, Creepy Creeps, Laura Cantrell, Graham Nancarrow

Rock, Latin reggae, and country music in Little Italy, Oceanside, Carlsbad, Harbor Island
Comments
Ask a Hipster — Advice you didn't know you needed Big Screen — Movie commentary Blurt — Music's inside track Booze News — San Diego spirits Classical Music — Immortal beauty Classifieds — Free and easy Cover Stories — Front-page features Drinks All Around — Bartenders' drink recipes Excerpts — Literary and spiritual excerpts Feast! — Food & drink reviews Feature Stories — Local news & stories Fishing Report — What’s getting hooked from ship and shore From the Archives — Spotlight on the past Golden Dreams — Talk of the town The Gonzo Report — Making the musical scene, or at least reporting from it Letters — Our inbox Movies@Home — Local movie buffs share favorites Movie Reviews — Our critics' picks and pans Musician Interviews — Up close with local artists Neighborhood News from Stringers — Hyperlocal news News Ticker — News & politics Obermeyer — San Diego politics illustrated Outdoors — Weekly changes in flora and fauna Overheard in San Diego — Eavesdropping illustrated Poetry — The old and the new Reader Travel — Travel section built by travelers Reading — The hunt for intellectuals Roam-O-Rama — SoCal's best hiking/biking trails San Diego Beer — Inside San Diego suds SD on the QT — Almost factual news Sheep and Goats — Places of worship Special Issues — The best of Street Style — San Diego streets have style Surf Diego — Real stories from those braving the waves Theater — On stage in San Diego this week Tin Fork — Silver spoon alternative Under the Radar — Matt Potter's undercover work Unforgettable — Long-ago San Diego Unreal Estate — San Diego's priciest pads Your Week — Daily event picks
4S Ranch Allied Gardens Alpine Baja Balboa Park Bankers Hill Barrio Logan Bay Ho Bay Park Black Mountain Ranch Blossom Valley Bonita Bonsall Borrego Springs Boulevard Campo Cardiff-by-the-Sea Carlsbad Carmel Mountain Carmel Valley Chollas View Chula Vista City College City Heights Clairemont College Area Coronado CSU San Marcos Cuyamaca College Del Cerro Del Mar Descanso Downtown San Diego Eastlake East Village El Cajon Emerald Hills Encanto Encinitas Escondido Fallbrook Fletcher Hills Golden Hill Grant Hill Grantville Grossmont College Guatay Harbor Island Hillcrest Imperial Beach Imperial Valley Jacumba Jamacha-Lomita Jamul Julian Kearny Mesa Kensington La Jolla Lakeside La Mesa Lemon Grove Leucadia Liberty Station Lincoln Acres Lincoln Park Linda Vista Little Italy Logan Heights Mesa College Midway District MiraCosta College Miramar Miramar College Mira Mesa Mission Beach Mission Hills Mission Valley Mountain View Mount Hope Mount Laguna National City Nestor Normal Heights North Park Oak Park Ocean Beach Oceanside Old Town Otay Mesa Pacific Beach Pala Palomar College Palomar Mountain Paradise Hills Pauma Valley Pine Valley Point Loma Point Loma Nazarene Potrero Poway Rainbow Ramona Rancho Bernardo Rancho Penasquitos Rancho San Diego Rancho Santa Fe Rolando San Carlos San Marcos San Onofre Santa Ysabel Santee San Ysidro Scripps Ranch SDSU Serra Mesa Shelltown Shelter Island Sherman Heights Skyline Solana Beach Sorrento Valley Southcrest South Park Southwestern College Spring Valley Stockton Talmadge Temecula Tierrasanta Tijuana UCSD University City University Heights USD Valencia Park Valley Center Vista Warner Springs
Close

Anchor ads are not supported on this page.

This Week’s Reader This Week’s Reader