Airport Garage Leak Damages Cars

COSTA MESA —  Fifteen people have filed claims complaining that their cars were damaged by a construction material that dripped from the leaky roof of a new parking garage at John Wayne Airport.

County officials said Monday that the damage caused by a lime mixture occurred during a rainstorm in November, and more claims are expected from last week’s drenching.

One of those expecting to file a claim is Henry Terahira, an Irvine business executive who returned from a New York business trip Friday to find that the glossy finish on the hood and left front fender of his 1988 Ford Taurus were marred by the lime, a sticky substance used to make mortar and cement.

“I tried to wash it off yesterday but nothing happened,” Terahira said. “So now I will see what the county will do about it.”

Since the first rain hit the garage Nov. 19, the county has received 15 reimbursement or repair claims from airport patrons whose vehicles were similarly damaged, county officials said.

“We will pay,” said Maria Bastanchury, who supervises the county’s claims processing office. “We know that there has been some leaking out there, so we are referring the claims to our airport insurance carrier.”

The claims are being settled for $50 to $150, roughly the cost of having the lime stains rubbed out professionally, according to Gretchen Carver, a claims representative on Bastanchury’s staff.

One unidentified claimant is seeking a new paint job. “It’s being investigated,” Carver said.

Airport officials said the $25-million garage, which opened in September, is expected to stop leaking once the building “settles.” As with any new building, they said, joints are constantly expanding and contracting. Construction engineers expect the structure to take nine months to a year to settle.

As a result, airport officials don’t anticipate doing anything to stop the leaking, airport spokeswoman Courtney Wiercioch said.

Complaints about the stains are automatically referred to the county’s Risk Management office, which sends them to an insurance carrier.

“I was told that it would take 30, 40, maybe 60 days before they would process my claim,” Terahira said. “But I don’t want to wait so long. I’m afraid if I take care of it myself, I might make it worse.”

Bastanchury said it would not take 60 days to process a claim.

Terahira said that although he had tried to wash off the lime himself using a liquid glass cleaner, he had not attempted any stronger measures because he feared scratching the paint.

He was preparing to take the car to an auto body shop for a repair estimate.

“I don’t know what else to do,” he said.

Some claimants have their own insurance carriers authorize repairs and then the carrier seeks reimbursement from the county, county officials said. Others wait for the county’s insurer to pay before commissioning repair work.

Bastanchury added: “I guess it’s a big thing when it happens to your car.”