A Bellevue, Seattle, family is suing the city of Bellevue after their home was destroyed in a landslide. The lawsuit was filed in King County Superior Court and accuses the city of being negligent in failing to warn the family about the aging pipes underneath the house.

John Surdi’s home sits on the top of a steep hill right behind the grounds of a private school. On the morning of January 17, Surdi received a phone call from his neighbor about water gushing down his driveway. When Surdi drove to the school's parking lot to investigate, he witnessed his home slide down the hill with his wife and dog still in it.

Surdi was able to make his way down to his home and rescue his wife and dog who were still trapped on the top floor of the home. As a result of the landslide, 40 people including Surdi’s neighbors were forced to evacuate the area. Surdi’s home was ultimately demolished because of the landslide.

The lawsuit was filed last week just one month after the family filed a $5 million claim against the city. Though it’s not yet clear what caused Surdi’s home to slide down the hill, Surdi blames the city’s piping system and argues that the city did not do enough to mitigate the risks posed by the crumbling infrastructure.

Initial reports show that an 8-inch diameter asbestos cement pipe that was situated behind Surdi’s home broke, causing water to shoot out and ultimately leading to the landslide that destabilized Surdi’s home.

According to planning documents by the city, the water pipe that failed underneath Surdi’s home was made out of asbestos cement which is “more likely to fail catastrophically than iron pipes.”

While the city has not yet responded to the lawsuit, Brad Harwood, a spokesperson for the city, has shared some insight about the landslide that destroyed Surdi’s home.

Harwood explained the asbestos piping was not put in by the city but rather by the previous owners of the hillside in the 1970s. Harwood added that there had been no previous reports that the piping was faulty, leaking, or showing any signs of breakage.

Between the 1940s and the 1980s asbestos cement was a popular building material used throughout North America. According to the Environmental Protection Agency and other industry organizations, roughly 10% - 20% of the nation's water mains are made out of asbestos cement. It is estimated that in Bellevue, about 40% of the city’s water system uses asbestos cement in the water main piping system.

“The slide was a complex incident, and it will take more than a couple of months to determine the cause and any potential liability,” Harwood shared in a statement.

In the $5 Million claim filed against the city, the Surdis detail that they “suffered emotional harm due to being caught in the mudflow and witnessing the immediate aftermath and ongoing horror of losing our home.”

Barb Surdi, who was home when her house slid down the hillside, details that “Since January 17th, I am a shell of the person I used to be. I feel so empty that it makes me feel physically sick inside.”

The $5 Million claim includes the lost value of the house, an estimated $2 - $3 million, John Surdi’s carpet cleaning business, six business and personal vehicles, and the loss of other personal belongings.

The city shares that the loss of Surdi’s family home has been an “incredibly painful process,” adding that they are not surprised by the lawsuit. The city has not taken any steps to deny or affirm the allegations made in the claim.

The lawsuit against the city comes after the city of Bellevue tried to sue the Surdi family over the landslide. The lawsuit against the family has since been dropped.