Suit Blocking Project Next to Crystal Cathedral Is Withdrawn

A lawsuit that had blocked plans to build a multimillion-dollar education and recreation center next to the Crystal Cathedral in Garden Grove was dropped Wednesday.

Dorothy Malis of Costa Mesa and Pat Howard of Hesperia filed the suit late last year in Orange County Superior Court. It alleged that asbestos insulation had been found in 19 apartments, which they had bought from the church for $67,000, on the site of the planned “family life center.”

Malis and Howard, both real estate investors, issued a written statement Wednesday that said they had agreed to dismiss the suit. The statement said they were satisfied with the results of an inspection that showed there was no asbestos in the buildings housing the apartments.

The suit had alleged that Malis and Howard could not go forward with plans to move the wood-and-stucco apartments to another location in the county and turn them into low-cost housing because the cost of removing the asbestos would be prohibitively expensive. Estimates of the cost ranged up to $300,000, the suit said.

But Wednesday’s written statement, issued on behalf of the Rev. Robert H. Schuller as well as Malis and Howard, said a complete inspection by an independent expert licensed by state and federal environmental agencies had determined that there is no asbestos in the buildings.

“All parties regret that any misunderstanding arose,” the statement said.

Schuller spokesman Michael Nason said Schuller, Malis and Howard had agreed to make no comment on the dispute beyond the joint statement.

“All parties want to put this behind them in the most positive way they can,” Nason said.

Specific plans for moving the apartments will be announced in the next month, Nason said. Construction for the family life center will begin soon afterward, Nason said, adding that Garden Grove has already approved building the 137,000-square-foot facility.

The family life center is to house religious classrooms, a gymnasium and a school for young pastors.