Arboga flood suit to start Dec. 1 in Sacramento court

MARYSVILLE (3/12/03) -- A trial over the 1997 flood that inundated 16,000 acres of Yuba County, killing three, is set to begin Dec. 1 in Sacramento County Superior Court, court records show.

Some 700 individuals and merchants are suing Reclamation District 784, state agencies and Pacific Gas and Electric Co. alleging negligence resulting in damages to more than 800 homes and businesses in the Linda/Arboga area, according to records.

The trial could take up to six months, with as many as 100 witnesses being called, attorneys have estimated.

The trial was moved to Sacramento County when a local judge last year ruled it unlikely that a fair jury could be found in Yuba County.

Meantime, the lawsuit stemming from a previous Linda flood in 1986 remains on appeal.

The initial trial in that case ended in favor of the plaintiffs. However, in 1999 a state appeals court ordered a retrial.

The judge conducting the subsequent retrial ruled in 2001 in favor of the defendants. That decision was appealed.