Coastside grower loses small-claims water tussle By MATT KAPKO Half Moon Bay Review October 6, 2004 Three homeowners with property on Naples Ditch have been awarded $5,000 each from a small-claims lawsuit against Nurserymen's Exchange. The nursery, one of the largest employers on the coast, is located directly across Highway 1 from these homes. It now has less than a month to pay the $15,000 to the three homeowners or appeal the decision to the Superior Court. The homeowners argued that the nursery has pumped water into the ditch, causing serious erosion and property loss. Nurserymen's Exchange installed an eight-inch pipe last April to reclaim more water on its property. Since then, the water flows through the ditch have subsided, but residents are still worried the flows could return. "The use of small claims was nothing but a wakeup call," said Sandy Paoli, one of the residents who brought the lawsuit. The homeowners' goal goes beyond the $5,000 they've each been awarded, she said. The property owners want Nurserymen's Exchange to provide a master drainage plan to dispel their fears of more water eroding their property. They also want the ditch filled in and a pipe installed to deal with any future storm runoff. An attorney for Nurserymen's Exchange said the company will appeal. "We were disappointed by the ruling and will appeal this decision to the Superior Court," said Don Mendel, general counsel for Nurserymen's Exchange. "The facts are that there are a number of broader issues," he wrote in a prepared statement. Home