Suit by Angels Seeks to Recoup Legal Expenses

The extra-innings battle between the California Angels and the City of Anaheim over use of the Anaheim Stadium parking lot continued Wednesday when the baseball team filed suit against City Manager William O. Talley in an attempt to recoup expenses incurred in the fight.

The suit, filed in Orange County Superior Court, details the history of negotiations for use of a 20-acre section of the parking lot among the Angels, the city, the Los Angeles Rams and a joint venture called Anaheim Stadium Associates (ASA). The Angels contend in the suit that “Talley falsely and fraudulently represented to ASA that the Angels’ lease did not mean what it said.”

The city manager “knew that the Angels would never willingly consent to the destruction of their parking lot,” the suit claims, to enable ASA to construct a $200-million high-rise office project in the stadium parking lot.

In March, the Angels filed a $1-million claim against the city for legal fees and other expenses resulting from the dispute, which is the subject of a 1983 civil action. No amount was cited in Wednesday’s suit, but Angels’ attorney William B. Campbell said the costs of the litigation were “substantially in excess of $1 million at this point.”

Neither Talley nor representatives of the city’s public information office could be reached for comment Wednesday.