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SALT LAKE CITY (AP) -- The father of two children who were killed along with their mother in a 2009 landslide following a canal break in Logan has filed a wrongful-death lawsuit against the city and others.
Victor Alanis' complaint, filed Wednesday in 1st District Court, is the second one in the past month alleging that the city and others were aware of the danger but failed to take adequate action.
Last month, homeowner Seth Bartschi sued the city and others for damages to his property.
Alanis, the common-law husband of Evelia Jacqueline Leavey and father of their children, 13-year-old Victor Alanis Jr. and 12-year-old Abbey Alanis, claims various studies showed the bluff that held a portion of the Logan Northern Canal was hazardous and prone to landslides.
Despite being notified in the days before the landslide of excessive water and runoff, the defendants failed to adequately inspect the area or warn residents of the potential danger, according to the lawsuit.
The canal broke July 11, 2009, sending a flood and water and earth onto nearby homes, including the rented house at the foot of the bluff where Leavey and the children lived.
"The landslide `flattened' the residence and buried the family alive," according to the lawsuit. "All three were crushed and sufffocated by the landslide, resulting in their deaths."
Also named as defendants were the Utah Department of Transportation, Utah State University and Logan Northern Irrigation Co. The city, UDOT and the company own and operate the canal and land around it. USU owns the hillside.
Spokesmen for UDOT and USU both said they could not comment because of the pending litigation. Kymber Housley, Logan's attorney, said he had not see the suit.
The suit seeks an unspecified amount of money.
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