FILE: Former 49ers quarterback Joe Montana looks on during the NFC Divisional Playoff game between the Minnesota Vikings and the San Francisco 49ers on January 11, 2020, at Levi’s Stadium.
Icon Sportswire/Icon Sportswire via Getty ImagesJoe and Jennifer Montana are among the people suing San Francisco, alleging city departments did nothing to prevent “torrents of water and untreated sewage” from flooding their homes.
The lawsuit, filed in the San Francisco County Superior Court on Aug. 24, was brought by dozens of families who live, rent or own property in the Marina District. The families allege that the San Francisco Public Utilities Commission and Department of Public Works, as well as contractors they hired, knowingly allowed negligent conditions to develop in their neighborhood.
According to the lawsuit, the problem originates with San Francisco’s unusual sewer system, which is the only one in coastal California that “treats both wastewater and stormwater in the same network of pipes.” The plaintiffs allege that the city knew its aging system was “routinely” overwhelmed by “even modest winter storms.”
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“Over the past decade, the City has continued to repair and improve its system ‘upstream’ of the Plaintiffs’ properties having the direct effect of channeling even greater and greater amounts of water and sewage into the areas surrounding Plaintiffs’ properties at a time when no significant ‘downstream’ improvements have been performed,” the suit claims.
FILE: A woman sweeps up debris around a storm drain near her house in San Francisco’s Outer Richmond neighborhood, on Friday, Nov. 19, 2021.
Charles Russo/SFGATE“A mix of raw sewage and storm water flowed in and around Plaintiffs’ properties, permeating the soils, walls, and floors, and depositing highly contaminated and toxic fecal and other raw sewage matter in and around Plaintiffs’ homes,” the suit continues. “The City has failed to take any remedial steps to properly remove the contaminants from Plaintiffs’ properties and surrounding soils despite knowing that Plaintiffs, their families, their children and other citizens are being exposed to these contaminants on a continuing basis.”
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This is not the only San Francisco property that’s allegedly caused headaches for the Montanas. In 2016, Joe Montana was among the residents informed that their unit in the Millennium Tower was sinking and tilting 16 inches.
The Marina District families are pursuing damages for negligence, dangerous exposure to raw sewage and mold, cleanup costs, property value loss and more. They are seeking a jury trial; a case management conference has been scheduled for Jan. 24, 2024.