Politics & Government

Half Moon Bay in Arbitration Over Beachwood Development

If an agreement cannot be made, the city will be ready to sue.

Half Moon Bay city officials are in arbitration with two insurance companies to seek more in damages related to the Beachwood Development, Vice Mayor John Muller told the Daily Journal.

Half Moon Bay lost the Beachwood case after the property owner argued successfully that a municipal drainage project ruined more than 20 acres of developable land.

The Insurance Company of the State of Pennsylvania and the Lexington Insurance Company both covered the city during the Beachwood development, which cost the city about $18 million in a court order.

ICSOP insured the city from 2002 to 2008 with $5 million policies for each of those years, while Lexington Insurance Company provided umbrella coverage above the $5 million, according to the Daily Journal article.

City spokesman Ross Guehring wrote the Daily Journal in an email, stating that in April, the City Council unanimously agreed to pursue reimbursement from its former insurance providers for various legal and financing costs.

When the case moves forward, the city will put forth substantial evidence that demonstrates ICSOP and Lexington Insurance Company’s obligations as the city’s insurance carriers, wrote Guehring to the Daily Journal.

If an agreement cannot be made in arbitration, the city will be ready to sue, according to the Daily Journal article.

Read the full story in the Daily Journal here.

Read local opinion piece "Beachwood just seems to be the gift that keeps on giving" by George Muteff here.

Then tell us what you think. Should Half Moon Bay pursue this or should they just let sleeping dogs lie?


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