Rubin and Stein said they spent more than $300,000 repairing hazardous conditions they alleged were caused by the county (Representational AI photo)
The couple say they spent more than $300,000 repairing the alleged damage, only to later receive a $676,703.22 bill from the county for its work. Rubin and Stein said they spent more than $300,000 repairing hazardous conditions they alleged were caused by the county. They were later sent a $676,703.22 invoice for the county’s mitigation work. They filed their federal lawsuit in March 2026.
Alejandro V Rubin and Lisa M Stein own property in an area designated as a “high-hazard landslide zone”, according to the court document. A landslide began around March 2024, sending “soil and debris onto Mount Madonna Road”, according to their complaint. A California couple who say Santa Clara County damaged their property while trying to deal with a landslide threatening a public road have been allowed to continue parts of their legal fight. A federal judge has dismissed their current complaint but allowed them to amend some of their claims. Their land includes a hillside overlooking Mount Madonna Road, a public road maintained by Santa Clara County. The situation continued to worsen despite efforts by the couple and the county. The lawsuit named Santa Clara County, three county bodies and seven county officials. The couple brought six claims, including alleged violations of procedural due process, a Fifth Amendment taking, failure to train or supervise employees, inverse condemnation, dangerous condition of public property and negligence.
The couple alleged that significant excavation work was carried out without “adequate notice or opportunity to appeal”. The defendants asked the court to dismiss the case. During the proceedings, Rubin and Stein dropped their three state-law claims including inverse condemnation, dangerous condition of public property and negligence. They also sought permission to pursue claims against the named officials individually rather than in their official capacities. The court also removed the County Board of Supervisors, Planning and Building Department and Roads and Airports Department as separate defendants, finding that they were parts of Santa Clara County. The county argued that the landslide presented an emergency and allowed officials to act without first holding a hearing.