Husband of B.C. mudslide victim files lawsuit

A British Columbia man whose wife died when a cascade of mud and rocks destroyed their house in January has filed a lawsuit against the District of North Vancouver.

Michael Kuttner was seriously injured in the same landslide that killed his wife Eliza.

The legal action filed in the British Columbia Supreme Court alleges the district withheld information about landslide risks in the Berkeley-Riverside neighbourhood, where the couple's home was located.

A consulting engineer's report commissioned by the district in 1980 had warned that a chunk of land on a property on a hillside above the Kuttners' home was at risk of slipping down the hillside.

• FROM JAN. 20, 2005: 1980 report warned of mudslide risk

That's exactly what happened on the night of Jan. 18, 2005, as the Kuttners slept.

The lawsuit says the family was not told about the warnings contained in the consulting engineer's report when it bought the property in 1986.

The legal action seeks compensation for Eliza Kuttner's "wrongful death," as well as Michael Kuttner's injuries and the property damage to their house.

The Kuttner family is also suing the former owners of the property where the slide is believed to have started following several days of intense rain.

The suit alleges that the neighbours brought fill onto the property despite knowing it would increase the risk to homeowners living on the slope below, and did not carry out recommended drainage measures recommended in the consulting engineer's report.