San Diego Is Getting Sued Because of One of Its Troubled Dams

The city of San Diego is in the middle of litigation centered on one of its  dams rated in poor condition by the state, and the attorney on the opposing side is one city officials are all too familiar with. 

His name is Vincent Bartolotta, and he’s representing a company called El Monte Nature Preserve, LLC.  

The company is suing San Diego for releasing six billion gallons of water from the El Capitan Dam and Reservoir into the surrounding areas “without notice” back in 2023. El Monte Nature Preserve’s nearby property was one of those areas, and the release of water caused its water table to rise by roughly 40 feet, resulting in “damage to the value of the property,” according to the lawsuit. 

A water table is the area underneath the earth’s surface where soil is saturated with water. If it rises, it can derail plans to build or dig. 

In this case, most of El Monte Nature Preserve’s property is zoned for sand mining, which involves extracting sand from the earth and using or selling it for things like construction projects. 

The company was in the process of obtaining a permit from the city for the actual sand mining to occur. However, now that the property’s water table has risen, it can no longer be mined for sand because the city doesn’t allow sand mining below the water table. 

Now, El Monte Nature Preserve is suing the city for damages and negligence and is asking for $300 million. 

“[El Monte Nature Preserve] has an intention to excavate valuable resources on the property that it owns,” the lawsuit says. “The city’s conduct has deprived [El Monte Nature Preserve] of all economically viable use of its property rights. This had a negative impact on [El Monte Nature Preserve] economically and interfered with distinct investment-backed expectations.” 

El Monte Nature Preserve is open to discussing several proposals with the city that could result in a win-win for both sides of the dispute, including a potential partial solution of cleaning out the San Diego River. 

The city has denied all of El Monte Nature Preserve’s claims, saying in court documents that the company is not entitled “to any relief whatsoever from the city.” The city attorney’s office did not respond to multiple requests for comment. 

A jury trial is set for Dec. 5. 

The Man Behind the City’s Oldest Lawsuit 

This isn’t Bartolotta’s first time facing off against San Diego. In fact, he’s the attorney behind the city’s longest-running lawsuit, which spanned a total of 20 years. 

The plaintiff in that case was Rocque “Rocky” de la Fuente II, a developer who entered into an agreement with the city of San Diego in 1986 to develop a 312-acre plot of land in Otay Mesa. 

De la Fuente later accused the city of sabotaging the project, scrapping plans that he had for the land, like an airport, and rerouting border traffic so trucks clogged the property, which he said ruined the land’s potential. 

De la Fuente sued the city in 1995 and initially won the case, putting the city on the hook for $154 million. But appeals, more lawsuits and battles in the courtroom continued for years until the two sides finally agreed to a settlement in 2015. 

The settlement called for two of the city’s former insurance carriers to pay $25 million to de la Fuente’s business park and $8.2 million to the city. 

“The city is aware of our firm and of me,” Bartolotta told Voice of San Diego. “And the city is aware that we don’t file frivolous cases, we take legitimate cases. They should be willing to sit and discuss a resolution with us, we’re willing to talk with the city.” 

About El Capitan Dam 

The status of El Capitan Dam is complicated. 

It goes back to an incident that occurred in Northern California back in 2017. The Oroville Dam spillway disintegrated, leading to the evacuation of more than 180,000 people living downstream. 

That led to new state laws requiring stronger safety standards at California’s dams. Today, the Division of Safety of Dams has water level restrictions on five reservoirs in San Diego County, including El Capitan Dam, where the state has cut the storage capacity by more than half. 

When the city of San Diego released those six billion gallons of water from El Capitan Dam in 2023, it was to keep water levels low, according to a 2024 report by CBS 8. 

Around 2019, state regulators categorized El Capitan Dam as being in “poor condition,” the second-lowest level on the state’s dam safety scale, because of its seismic stability issues and need for “significant repair.” Lake Hodges Dam has the lowest rating in San Diego County, with its condition listed as “unsatisfactory.” 

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