Following a lawsuit filed by hundreds of Pajaro Valley residents and business owners, farmers and agricultural landowners and tenants have filed two lawsuits against local, regional and state agencies they claim are liable for damages connected to the 2023 Pajaro levee breach and subsequent flooding. One suit is filed by about a dozen business entities (and roughly 50 people who are trustees); another by Willoughby Farms. Each case, filed on March 4 in Monterey County Superior Court, names a long list of defendants: the counties of Monterey and Santa Cruz; the Monterey County Water Resources Agency; Santa Cruz County Flood Control and Water Conservation District; Pajaro Regional Flood Management Agency; State of California; and Caltrans. (The Willoughby Farms suit also names the City of Watsonville and others.)