Plaintiff in Suit--and Handcuffs : He Takes City Hall to Court, Lands in Jail as Defendant

David Morgan’s fight with City Hall landed him in jail Thursday when he walked into a Los Angeles courtroom as a plaintiff in a civil suit against the city and walked out as a defendant--in handcuffs.

The Hollywood camera store owner, who is suing Los Angeles over a $922-million Hollywood redevelopment plan, was arrested during a hearing on his suit after attorneys for the city surprised him with a warrant on an unrelated rent control violation.

“File a lawsuit, go to jail,” David Morgan’s attorney, Christopher Sutton, said with a shrug after his client was led out of the courtroom where Superior Court Judge Warren Deering is considering Morgan’s claim that the redevelopment plan will force thousands of residents and businesses out of central Hollywood.

The arrest warrant, delivered to court bailiffs by Deputy City Atty. Bill Cullen, charges Morgan with failing to appear at a July arraignment on 12 misdemeanor counts of illegal rent increases on an apartment building he owns at 4028 Perlita St.

Cullen denied that the sudden execution of the warrant had anything to do with Morgan’s lawsuit against the city. While misdemeanor warrants are not normally aggressively pursued by police, Cullen said, he received a notice of the upcoming court hearing and realized it would be an opportunity to serve the warrant.

Sutton said he was shocked by the incident, which he called an interesting coincidence, but said he could not comment on the charges against his client.

Morgan said he was never served with the original criminal complaint and was unaware he had missed an arraignment. He called his arrest a publicity stunt by the city attorney’s office.

“They’re trying to prejudice the press and the public against the trial and against our efforts to build Hollywood on a friendly basis,” he declared.

Shouting at reporters as he was led away by sheriff’s deputies, he added: “The one thing they don’t realize is that the purpose of this redevelopment case is to help renters. I am trying to defend the rights of the renters and minorities who are going to be displaced.”

Morgan’s lawsuit, one of four pending by opponents of the plan to redevelop 1,100 acres of central Hollywood, challenges the environmental impact report prepared for the plan.

Deputy City Atty. Diane Stephenson said Morgan, who also owns Morgan Camera at 6262 Sunset Blvd., is charged with violating city rent control laws by raising the rent on at least one of his apartment units twice in one year, from $290 to $465. The law in effect at the time limited rent increases to one a year and a maximum of 4%, she said.

Morgan said any rent increases he imposed were made “by agreement with tenants.” Overall, he said, his rents are “real low--they’re probably a half to a third of other rents in the area.”

The landlord was being held in lieu of $5,000 bond Thursday.