The San Francisco call., 1895-07-30
HALF A MILLION DAMAGES
The City and Spring Valley
Water Company to Be Sued
for That Sum.
LOSSES FROM THE GREAT FIRE.
Suit to Be Brought on the Ground
Of an Inadequate Water
Supply.

A suit for half million dollars is to be
brought against the City and the Spring
Valley Water Company by owners of prop
erty destroyed during the great fire south
of Market street four weeks ago.
The grounds of the suit will be based on
the inadequacy of the water supply, incon-
venient location of hydrants and smallness
of mains. Ever since the destructive con-
fiagration there has been talk of redress
among those who lost their all and had no
insurance to help them bear their burden,
but until this time there was nothing
definite. 1t now transpires, however, that
the owners of property having claims
amounting to about half million dollars
have joined hands and will sue the City
and Spring Valley Water Company for
compensation for their loss.
Claims amounting to $780, 600 have been
assigned to the law firm of Gum & Kosci-
alOwskl by the owners of property in the
burned district, and suit will be brought
against the City and water company as
soon as the papers can be drawn up. The
losers by the fire have signed contracts
with the attorneys, and the latter, accord
ing to the agreement, are to receive hand
some percentage of the damages recovered
If the suit is successful. Some say the
legal fees will amount to half the judg
ment, while others assert the attorneys are
to be paid only one-quarter of the amount
secured.
Many of those who will become plaintiffs
to the suit are poor. They had no insur-
ance on the property consumed by the piti-
less flames, and are only too glad of an
opportunity of getting something out of
the wreck. Some hav. gone into the suit
without fully understanding its signiti-
canoe, as witness the assertion of Mrs.
Joane Reavy: "Of course" she said, II want
to get something for my loss, so | signed
lawyers paper, and only hope the at
torneys may be successful. All | know is
that l don't have to pay anything, and am
likely to get a little money for my house
that was burned to the cellar bricks"
No doubt many others had become par
ties to the suit in the same way. Any
thing will be considerable to them, under
the circumstances, and they readily ac-
qulesced to the suit on the logical PROPOSE
tion that something. however little, is bet
ter than nothing.
Mr.. Einstein, formerly of the firm
of Einstein & Levy, owners of a feed
mill that was destroyed by the flames,
said last night that he had heard some
thing about the suit, but he did not know
who was at the head of the movement.
The attorneys rely on the testimony of
residents in the burned district and mem
bers of the Fire Department to show that
the water supply was inadequate, that the
mains were too small and the hydrants too
far apart. 1t will also be set forth that the
Chief of the Fire Department had previous
ly called the attention OF the water COM
pany to the necessity of laying larger
mains and otherwise improving the water
facilities in that part of the City.
Only portion of the burned district is
represented in the pending suit, and others
are likely to follow.