State: No fraud committed in Oso landslide trial preparation

SEATTLE (AP) — Lawyers for the state of Washington say fraud accusations made by victims and family members in a lawsuit over a deadly 2014 landslide are false.

In a motion filed Friday, the attorneys deny allegations that state lawyers orchestrated a fraud by deleting emails between expert witnesses for the state.

"No attorney for the State ever directed experts to delete emails, to reach a particular conclusion, or to change their opinions," the attorneys wrote.

The state attorneys also say the request by victims' attorneys for sanctions against the state in this matter should be denied.

The lawsuit set for trial this fall is expected to involve one of the largest tort claims in Washington history with the state, Snohomish County and Grandy Lake Forest Associates as defendants.