Court Takes Its Case to Landlord, Claims Building Was Made Unsafe

The Los Angeles Municipal Court building in Encino is the place where, among other disputants, San Fernando Valley landlords and tenants present their cases to an impartial court.

Now, however, court officials have become the unhappy tenants. They are accusing their landlord, the United States Postal Service, of making their building unsafe.

“We believe we have been, in effect, dispossessed of our property,” said Robert Quist, the deputy court administrator. “We believe the building is inadequate now.”

Roof, Walls Weakened

County officials say the Postal Service, which is building a post office on the same site at 5767 White Oak Ave., weakened the building’s roof and cracked its walls by demolishing two adjoining buildings.

The Postal Service says it has agreed to pay for repairs to the courthouse roof but that the damage occurred before the demolition began in May. Ron Powell, a Postal Service spokesman, could not say Monday what had caused the damage, but he said the building is suitable for use as a courthouse.

County officials said the courthouse began to sag and crack after the adjoining buildings were razed because the neighboring structures no longer provided it with support.

Believing the courthouse had become unsafe, county officials evacuated it once last month, halting court business for one day. They had county workers install 66 posts to shore up the roof. The posts are in courtrooms, clerks’ offices and public hallways. They block traffic and obstruct vision, making it difficult to conduct court business, Quist said.

“You might be in the audience in a courtroom and there would be two posts in the way,” said Quist.

Quist said the demolition also created noise and vibrations that made it difficult to conduct business. The county unsuccessfully sought a court order to halt the work.

The Postal Service has agreed to pay $15,000 to $18,000 for installing the posts. The county is negotiating with the Postal Service over further repairs.

Claus Marx, chief of the county’s leasing and revenue division, said the court could simply find another home and the Postal Service could help pay moving costs and any increase in rent. Powell said he did not know whether the Postal Service was prepared to pay moving expenses.

The county is leasing the land from the Postal Service, which bought the property from private investors in 1984. The county’s lease runs out in December, 1989. The building has been used as a courthouse since 1976.

Quist said it could be closed if it’s deemed unsafe, and court business would be moved to other courthouses.