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%L <br />racS Tress Wednesday, May 9, 1984 <br />Rural homeowners sue <br />Adequate water, sewage disposal issues of court claim <br />By DIANNE BARTH <br />San Joaquin News Service <br />A group of unhappy home owners in the Santos Estates, <br />west of Tracy, are tired of backed -up sewage, what they <br />claim is distasteful water and the threat of well water con- <br />tamination. <br />Resident owners in Units 1,2,3 and 4 of the Santos Ranch <br />residential subdivision requested unspecified monetary dam- <br />ages and a court injunction against the builders, sellers and <br />brokers of the subdivision in a lawsuit filed Monday in San <br />Joaquin County Superior Court. <br />The suit, filed by San Francisco attorney Mary Allen, on <br />behalf of 27 subdivision home owners, demanded the courts <br />order subdivision developers to provide adequate water sup- <br />plies and sewage disposal systems. <br />The lawsuit also demanded developers not be allowed to <br />continue to install wells and sewage systems in the Santos <br />Ranch or Los Rancheros Estates subdivisions. <br />Named as defendents in the lengthy suit were local <br />builder Dave Olmstead and broker Don Cose. Neither was <br />available for comment Tuesday, <br />Also named in the suit were: James Most and his con- <br />struction firm; Bonnie Most, Ernest Pombo, Eric Trinkle, <br />Hans Johnson and Don Bochler, all area realtors; and Hen- <br />nings Brothers Drilling, Inc. <br />Santos Ranch, a seven-year-old subdivision bounded by <br />Von Sosten Road, Hansen Road and Interstate 205, has been <br />the object of complaints by home owners who suffered local <br />flooding during the heavy winter rains of 1983. <br />Since that time, home owners claimed they have suf- <br />fered clogged septic systems and poor quality water. <br />The lawsuit notes the plantiffs hired professional engi- <br />neers to determine what the problems were and discovered <br />faulty construction, including individual wells dug to the first <br />acquifier. <br />Home buyers said they were assured there was an ad- <br />equate supply of good water and effective sewage and drain- <br />age systems. <br />However, the defendents are accused of breaching an <br />implied warranty at the time of the home sales because the <br />plaintiffs did not receive adequate water supply, sewage dis- <br />posal and water drainage and because the systems allegedly <br />were not and are not fit for the particular purposes for which <br />they were to be used. <br />