City can test wildfire debris being dumped in landfill

A Los Angeles County judge has granted Calabasas' request to test debris from the January wildfires that is being dumped in a landfill in the city.

The city maintains that debris from the Eaton and Palisades fires contains hazardous materials that will pose a danger to the community. It also acknowledges the Los Angeles County Sanitation District's assertion that state law precludes the disposal of hazardous waste there, so it seeks to examine the assertion by testing soil samples of fire debris as it is being unloaded from the trucks. Calabasas sued the county in February.

The Los Angeles County Sanitation District opposed the requests, saying they were vague and ambiguous, not relevant to the complaint nor reasonably calculated to lead to the discovery of admissible evidence.

Los Angeles County Superior Court Judge Steven I. Goorvitch disagreed that the requests were vague. He said that terms like "inspect, measure, test and take samples" can be interpreted based on their common meanings, and that the sanitation district did not defend this objection in its opposition brief.

Goorvitch went on to say that in the context of discovery, evidence is relevant if it might help a party evaluate its case, prepare for trial or facilitate a settlement. City of Calabasas v. County of Los Angeles et al., 25STCP00642 (L.A. Super. Ct., filed Feb. 20, 2025).

"California's liberal approach to permissible discovery generally has led the courts to resolve any doubt in favor of permitting discovery," Goorvitch said, quoting Volkswagen of America, Inc. v. Superior Court, (2006) 139 Cal.App.4th 1481, 1497.

Calabasas is represented by Aleshire & Wynder LLP. Equity Partner Pam Lee said they requested to test the soil in March.

"We've been in a discovery battle since then. We're glad the court made the ruling. It's entirely sensible for the city to test the soil," she said in a telephone interview.

The testing data is especially relevant to the plaintiffs because the parties are trying to resolve the case amicably, Lee said.

"A satisfactory settlement would entail the county and sanitation district taking all precautionary measures to ensure the safety and public health of the surrounding community," Pam Lee said.

The lawsuit stems from a Jan. 27 announcement by the County Sanitation District for District 2 that debris from multiple wildfires would be permitted at the Calabasas landfill.

The announcement allegedly said that the Calabasas landfill can accept disaster-related waste, but, according to an L.A. County order, fire debris must have a certificate that it is non-hazardous. But it did not explain the nature of the certificate or who would determine whether the debris would be nonhazardous.

The county is represented by Nossaman LLP's David C. Lee and Kasia Penn. They did not respond to a request for comment.