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Burbank Councilwoman Drops Husband’s Lawsuit

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TIMES STAFF WRITER

Burbank City Councilwoman Mary Lou Howard, in a move aimed at ending accusations of conflict of interest, has dropped a lawsuit that her late husband filed against the city in a property dispute.

“The case is over,” Howard said. “I was never interested in pursuing this lawsuit. There were just some things that had to be worked through before it was dropped.”

Howard’s announcement at Tuesday night’s council meeting was met with applause by several people seated in the council chambers.

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The lawsuit stemmed from a 1984 dispute that arose when the city’s Redevelopment Agency used its power of eminent domain to take over Jack Howard’s law office building at Angeleno Avenue and 3rd Street. Although Howard was reimbursed for his property, the agency refused to relocate his law practice on a downtown redevelopment site because of his wife’s position on the Redevelopment Agency.

“I personally did not have any interest in this case,” Mary Lou Howard told the council. “It was filed because the agency refused to forward the same rights and benefits to Jack that other persons receive when they are relocated from a redevelopment project.”

The lawsuit, however, was dismissed in March when Jack Howard committed suicide. It was refiled a short time later by Mary Lou Howard because, she said, she needed time to assess all of the legal issues involved before deciding what action to take. The suit had asked for $1 million in damages.

“I didn’t want to make any rash decisions,” Howard said. “Jack is gone now, so it no longer makes any difference.”

For the past several months, Howard has come under harsh criticism from other City Council members and the public because of her pursuit of the legal action. Last week, the council members directed the city attorney to investigate whether Howard was in conflict of interest as a result of the litigation.

After her announcement to drop the suit, Councilman Thomas E. Flavin told Howard that he appreciated her decision. He said he hoped there were no hard feelings between Howard and the council regarding the matter.

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“As council members, we have the responsibility of vigorously defending taxpayer money from any lawsuit that is filed against us, by anybody,” Flavin told Howard. “I don’t think there were any personal differences that motivated it. It was just that we saw it as our responsibility.”

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