A lawsuit has been filed against the Los Angeles Department of Water and Power on behalf of a 5-year-old boy whose father was electrocuted while working as a tree trimmer in Cheviot Hills in 2023.
The Santa Monica Superior Court lawsuit’s other defendants include the Cheviot Hills Homeowners’ Association and All In One Landscaping Inc. The company dispatched the victim, 33-year-old Noel Gonzalez Sixtos, to trim hedges at the location despite the presence of high-voltage power lines that could not be seen due to foliage, according to the complaint.
The suit, alleging negligence and dangerous condition of public property, seeks unspecified damages. Representatives of the LADWP and the landscaping company could not be immediately reached for comment on the suit brought Thursday.
The accident happened Nov. 1 while Sixtos was working in the 10300 block of West Glenbarr Avenue, an area where the homeowners’ association had jurisdiction and had an obligation to clear away overgrown foliage that concealed power lines, the suit states.
The utility’s alleged failure to properly operate and maintain the electrical power lines also was a factor in the man’s death, the suit states.