L.A. City Council Comes Up With an Offer for Legal Fees in Redistricting Suit

The Los Angeles City Council, meeting behind closed doors Wednesday, approved an amount the city will be willing to pay to settle a demand for legal fees by the Mexican American Legal Defense and Educational Fund arising from last year’s redistricting lawsuit.

Deputy City Atty. William Waterhouse declined to divulge the amount of the city’s offer to MALDEF. MALDEF attorneys refused to reveal what they are seeking.

The city spent about $445,000 on its defense, including the cost of hiring demographers to prepare several redistricting plans.

Waterhouse said the city has agreed to pay an additional $14,500 to the National Assn. for the Advancement of Colored People and $10,500 to a group of Asian-Americans who joined the lawsuit.

The suit, filed by the U.S. Justice Department in 1985, accused the city of splitting up Latino neighborhoods among several council districts and weakening Latino political power in violation of the federal Voting Rights Act. The suit was dismissed last year after the council redrew district lines to create a second predominantly Latino district north and west of downtown. An election will be held in that new 1st District on Feb. 3.

If the city and MALDEF cannot reach agreement on attorneys’ fees, the issue will be decided in court. Waterhouse said the Voting Rights Act provides for attorneys fees for prevailing plaintiffs.