Local News in Brief : Slide Settlement Now Law

Owners of 236 Malibu homes damaged or destroyed in a 1983 landslide should get compensation checks from the state this summer under a settlement agreement that went into effect Monday.

State legislation appropriating $25 million, and potentially as much as $75 million, to settle lawsuits filed by the homeowners at Big Rock Mesa became law after Gov. George Deukmejian failed to sign or veto it. The governor had until midnight Sunday to act on the bill.

The legislation, introduced by Sen. Gary K. Hart (D-Santa Barbara), ratifies a settlement reached last year between the state Department of Transportation and the homeowners. It calls for the homeowners to receive $25 million this summer for the state to make up the difference if the homeowners fail to receive at least $50 million from Los Angeles County.

Richard D. Norton, one of two attorneys representing the homeowners, said the state will deposit the $25 million in a special account in about six weeks. Each homeowner will receive between $30,000 and $100,000, with the remaining money--between $7 million and $9 million--paying for expert and legal fees, he said.

The homeowners sued the county and the state, alleging that the slide was caused by construction of the Pacific Coast Highway and the lack of sewage connections when the area was developed. The action against the county is still in court.