Temblor expected to unleash avalanche of lawsuits; vaguely worded leases, insurance policies to...

Commercial property owners and tenants who faced a mess of damage after the Jan. 17 Northridge earthquake are still facing a mess of legal ad insurance issues that could result in a spate of lawsuits later this year.

Experts said many commercial leases and some earthquake insurance

policies contain vague language that is bound to result in unresolved disputes - as property owners, tenants and insurance companies try to sort out who is responsible for paying for damages from the quake.

According to Jeffrey Master, litigation partner at Cox, Castle & Nicholson law firm in Century City, disputes regarding earthquake coverage usually fall into one of two classes: disagreements between tenants and landlords about who is responsible for paying for certain damages, and misunderstanding between insurance companies and property owners regarding the deductible portion of earthquake policies.

Masters and Rick Mallory of the downtown L.A.-based law firm Allen, Matkins, Leck, Gamble & Mallory both said the disputes are going to mean long hours of negotiations among the various parties. Many disputes will be resolved through negotiations and many will no doubt go to private mediators to avoid lengthy lawsuits. But ultimately, Masters said, "there are bound to be dozens of lawsuits" arising from cases that can't be settled.