The Town Crier has learned that two other lawsuits were filed stemming from the Mountain Fire besides the two filed by Cal Fire and the Paul plaintiffs, reported on last week.
This past March, Lawrence Goda filed a lawsuit against Tarek M. Al-Shawaf, the owner of the property on which the fire originated, and other defendants designated as Does. Goda’s complaint alleges that he was the owner of real property located at 28850 Bonita Vista Road in Mountain Center and that the fire resulted in “complete destruction of Plaintiff Lawrence Goda’s home and contents.”
Also in March, Diana Amore filed a lawsuit against the same defendants alleging that she was a resident of that same Bonita Vista Road premises and that she sustained the “complete destruction of Plaintiff’s personal property in the premises.”
The next step after filing a lawsuit is to formally serve it on the defendant. A defendant has no obligation to answer a complaint until it is formally served on him with summons.
Court records do not yet show that either Goda or Amore are represented by counsel. There is no indication they have joined the lawsuit filed on behalf of other Hill plaintiffs by attorney Shawn Caine of Del Mar.