From the people’s court in the Byron Y. Appleton Honorary Courtroom in Santa Monica.
Santa Monica Superior Court judges recently found that: ■ The City of Santa Monica must pay Santa Monica homeowner David Burger $2,000 after tree roots grew into his sewer line.
Burger told the court he called Roto-Rooter Plumbing & Drain in April to estimate repairs to his sewer line, which had been infiltrated by one of the city’s Australian Melaleuca — a variety of tree with a menacing reputation, according to Burger.
While the plumber examined the situation, a city inspector recommended that Burger route the replacement sewage line around the roots of the tree, to avoid a recurrence of the problem, according to court testimony.
Burger said the city is removing the Melaleuca trees in a two-block area of his neighborhood. He asked that his tree be cut down early, but city officials refused.
So Burger paid his Roto-Rooter plumber $7,500 to run 30 feet of new sewage line from his home to a new connection spot on the city’s line.
Burger filed a claim with the City of Santa Monica, seeking reimbursement for the additional expense of navigating the new pipe around the pesky Melaleuca.
When Burger’s claim was denied, he sued the city for $5,000, the maximum allowable in small claims court.
The Roto-Rooter plumber who did the work on Burger’s sewer line testified that the tree roots forced him to extend the line an extra six feet.
The city sent a paralegal, a tree arborist and a waste water official to represent it in court, claiming that natural deterioration of the old lines allowed the tree to infiltrate the pipe.
But Judge Pro Tem Ruth Kremen ruled against the city, calculating that the extra piping required to dodge the tree’s roots represented $2,000 of the $7,500 bill.
Originally published in the Santa Monica Daily Press print edition on August 10, 2002. Read the original PDF.