Lussier

Statement of the Case

Plaintiffs Michael and Sally Lussier filed a complaint against, inter alia, the San Lorenzo Valley Water District (the District) seeking to recover for damages suffered when timber, debris, and water washed from the District’s land onto plaintiffs’ property during a heavy rainstorm in 1982. The complaint asserted five causes of action: (1) negligence, (2) maintenance of a dangerous condition (Gov. Code, § 835), (3) nuisance (Civ. Code, §§ 3479 and 3501; Code Civ. Proc., § 731), (4) trespass, and (5) inverse condemnation (Cal. Const., art. I, § 19).

At trial, the court granted the District’s motion for a nonsuit on the nuisance, trespass, and inverse condemnation causes of action. The jury then returned a defense verdict on the remaining claims, and plaintiffs filed this appeal.

Plaintiffs claim that the trial court erred in (1) giving proximate cause rather than legal and concurrent cause instructions, (2) granting the District’s motion for nonsuit, (3) admitting irrelevant impeachment testimony, and (4) giving the case to the jury too late in the day.

We affirm the judgment.

Statement of Facts

The basic facts are undisputed. The District owns…