FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE: August 21, 2009

Judge Orders Halt to Excavation of Multi-Million Dollar Hermosa Beach Home After Expert Testifies Slippage Caused By the Excavation Could Rupture Utility Lines

HERMOSA BEACH, CALIF.--A Torrance Superior Court Judge granted an injunction on August 17 to stop the construction of a Hermosa Beach home at the request of a neighbor who says the construction is causing her home to sink so much that her utility lines are in danger of rupturing.

In November 2008, Jeffrey and Katherine Kernochan hired general contractor KKC Development to tear down their existing beachfront home at 2126 The Strand in Hermosa Beach. The contractor began digging below the water line to make way for a basement and a newly constructed home. As part of the excavation process, the contractor used a new construction technique that would first pump water out of the property, and at the end of construction, the water would be pumped back into the site under the new home. In a November 20, 2008 Hermosa Beach Reporter article, Jeff Kernochan was quoted as saying, “We’re cutting a new path no one has done before us…we’re basically having to build a boat that won’t leak.” Kim Komick of KKC, admitted in the same article that it was a “tricky project.”

"Almost immediately after excavation began, the property next door, 2120 The Strand, began experiencing problems," says Adam D.H. Grant, a principal with the Encino law firm of Alpert, Barr & Grant who represents Teresa Dickey and a family trust which owns the 2120 property and filed the injunction. "Her family's home began to settle and tilt toward the excavation pit next door."

Dickey hired engineers to monitor the damage. Their tests confirmed her property had tilted approximately four inches toward the open construction pit. In addition, loose ceiling joints, uneven flooring, cracks in the outside stucco, walls, windows and door frames and tears and buckling of walls, ceiling and pipes became evident. A structural engineer with almost 30 years of experience indicated in his report that earth movement is jeopardizing the integrity of gas, water and electric utility lines. An independent contractor estimated the structural damage to the property because of the excavation next door at $374,481.20 as of November 19, 2008. "We believe the damage has increased substantially since then," says Grant.

Dickey and her family are seeking compensation for the cost of repairs to their house as well as compensation for the personal injuries they suffered as a result of carbon monoxide poisoning when KKC Development began welding just outside their home's windows. A lawsuit was filed in Los Angeles Superior Court against the Kernochans and KKC Development prior to serving the motion for a preliminary injunction. (Teresa Dickey et.al. vs. Jeffrey S. Kernochan, Katherine A. Kernochan, KKC Development, Inc. et.al., Los Angeles County Superior Court, Case No.YC059813, filed on May 20, 2009)

"In the motion, we asked the court to stop the Kernochans and KKC Development from any further excavation or construction and to engage in all reasonable efforts to prevent any further settlement on our client’s property," says Grant. "We're hoping that this is finally the beginning of the end to a long, long nightmare for our client."

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For a copy of the complaint and motion, contact Diane Rumbaugh, diane AT rumbaughpublicrelations.com, 805-493-2877.