Lawyer Wins $40,000 in Fees

A Hermosa Beach attorney who led the successful legal fight against the Biltmore hotel developers has been awarded $40,000 in legal fees in an out-of-court settlement.

Sheila Donahue Miller, who represented the Hotel Referendum Committee in the lengthy battle over the vacant city property, said she has received the first down payment from Greenwood-Langlois Development Co. of Pacific Palisades, with the rest due in installments over the next two years.

Miller reportedly had asked for nearly $100,000 under a state law that allows courts to award attorney fees to the side that prevails in public-interest lawsuits. The settlement was approved by a Los Angeles Superior Court judge last month, she said.

In 1984 and 1985, voters turned down proposals to build the hotel by narrow margins. Michael Escalante, a resident supporting the developers’ proposals, filed a lawsuit challenging the validity of several ballots. A judge found that the hotel builders had won by one vote, but that decision was overturned on appeal.

The Biltmore site is the subject of two initiatives on the November ballot. One proposes a mix of commercial and park uses. The other would preserve the entire parcel for open space.