A summary of Southern California-related business litigation developments during the past week.

Adamson Cos. Argues in Malibu Cityhood Case: The Adamson Cos. in Malibu on Wednesday was made a formal party to a Los Angeles Superior Court suit that seeks to force the county Board of Supervisors to schedule a Malibu cityhood election. Judge Dzintra Janavs declined to order the county to immediately schedule an election and took the matter under submission. The supervisors want a sewer system that many Malibu residents believe would encourage unwanted development. The Adamson Cos. argued before Judge Janavs that building a sewer was a condition of Malibu becoming a city. The Adamson Cos., which once owned all the land that is now Malibu, has spent $5 million preparing to build a 300-room hotel near Pepperdine University. The company has all the necessary permits from the county and the California Coastal Commission, but the permits are contingent on a sewer being built. (Filed Dec. 20, 1989, Case No. C746980)