San Francisco Law Firm to Handle Medfly Suit
The Los Angeles City Council unanimously agreed Tuesday to hire a San Francisco law firm to handle the city’s suit aimed at halting the aerial spraying of the pesticide malathion in the battle against the Mediterranean fruit fly.
Councilman Joel Wachs, who proposed the suit, said the firm of Heller, Erhman, White & McAuliffe has experts in environmental law. The council did not place a dollar limit on the contract.
Wachs said the state’s plan to stop the spraying in June--a month early--will not deter the council from pursuing court action because the spraying could resume at any time.
The city’s suit maintains that Gov. George Deukmejian did not have grounds for declaring the state of emergency under which the spraying is taking place.
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