A settlement is on the horizon in multiple lawsuits filed in response to the Pajaro levee failure.

When the levee along the Pajaro River broke around midnight on March 11, 2023, the resulting flood devastated the community of Pajaro – inundating homes and businesses and leading to an abrupt early-morning evacuation of residents, many of whom were displaced for an extended period and whose belongings were damaged or destroyed.

Farms also faced catastrophic floods, suffering millions in damage from the deluge.

In 2024, multiple lawsuits were filed on behalf of multiple plaintiffs – including hundreds of residents, as well as agricultural operations in the Pajaro Valley such as Driscoll’s, JAL Berry Farms, and other non-farm businesses.

Defendants named in the suits included the counties of Monterey and Santa Cruz, along with the Monterey County Water Resources Agency, the Pajaro Regional Flood Management Agency and Caltrans, among others.

Now, after more than two years in court, those cases are nearly settled, according to court records, with specific terms not yet announced or entered into the court record.

According to Chief Assistant Monterey County Counsel Kelly L. Donlon, “The parties have preliminary agreement in all the Pajaro levee flood-related cases on financial terms, but not all parties have yet agreed and we are still negotiating the non-monetary terms.”

One of the lawsuits, filed by Willoughby Farms, argued that the roughly $7 million in damage the company suffered on properties including Trafton Ranch and Cox Ranch were avoidable and caused by the multiple agencies’ decisions to “defer maintenance and repair, which created an unreasonable risk of harm to Willoughby Farms,” and that “the unreasonable conduct violated California law.”

“This case is about a farm devastated in multiple places by a failed levee system and sewer system along the Pajaro River,” the complaint reads. “In a series of inadequate planning, operation and maintenance decisions, the agencies named in this lawsuit failed their duties owed to Willoughby Farms.”

The company’s 65-acre O’Connell Ranch is located directly adjacent to the levee.

Willoughby’s attorneys argued that the case is not about harm by “unforeseeable rainfall or harm associated with a foreseeable risk of owning property near a river.”

The court documents highlight that the Army Corps of Engineers constructed the levee in 1949 to reduce flooding risks to the surrounding areas, with agencies including the County of Santa Cruz and the Monterey County Water Resources Agency signing a 1947 resolution assuring the Army that they would operate and maintain the levee.

Willoughby’s lawsuit alleges breaches of California’s civil and government code along with a breach of the California Constitution, which states: “Private property may be taken or damaged for a public use and only when just compensation, ascertained by a jury unless waived, has first been paid to, or into court for, the owner.”

More details about the settlement terms are expected in the coming weeks.