Cullen Earthquake Act does Not Apply to Gradual Earth Movement

County road work in 1956 triggered a gradual land movement which caused some buildings to slide, sometimes outside their property line. The property owners sued the City under Cullen Earthquake Act (Cal. Code Civ. Proc. § 751.50, et seq.). California Court of Appeal held: A disaster is commonly defined as “a sudden calamitous event.' Gradual, ongoing earth movements do not qualify as disasters, and hence are not actionable under the Cullen Act. Summary judgment in favor of the City affirmed.
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