Company Sues to End Building Moratorium : Development: Taylor Woodrow Homes seeks quit claim to disputed Laguna Niguel land, $25 million.

Taylor Woodrow Homes California Ltd. filed suit Friday to force Laguna Niguel to lift a building moratorium imposed in July when it was disclosed that the district attorney was investigating a land transaction in the developer’s Marina Hills planned community.

The suit also asks an Orange County Superior Court judge to enforce a quit claim deed in which public control over the land--96 acres of open space--was deeded to Taylor Woodrow. The action seeks to void an earlier offer of dedication in which a previous property owner set the land aside as potential parkland.

In a related action, Taylor Woodrow Homes filed a $25-million damage claim against the city for lost earnings and goodwill. The company alleges that it has been unable to fulfill contractual commitments to suppliers and other subcontractors or to sell its houses on the disputed land.

“We are reluctantly pursuing this action in order to protect Taylor Woodrow’s interest,” said Taylor Woodrow Homes President Gordon Tippell. “We had hoped to resolve and conclude the issue with the city but were unfortunately unable to do so.”

Attorneys for the company said they were forced to file the suit Friday because they faced a 90-day deadline established by state law for challenging the council’s July 17 decision.

After a late-night marathon meeting in July, the council voted to deny building permits for houses not yet begun on the undeveloped portions of the 96 acres and to sue Taylor Woodrow Homes for damages to the land, part of which already holds houses. City officials have said they will maintain the moratorium until the criminal investigation is complete.

The legal action Friday came four days before the Orange County grand jury is scheduled to begin hearing testimony concerning the land transaction.

Councilmen James F. Krembas signed the deed to Taylor Woodrow Homes in February, 1988, acting then as vice president of the community service district that preceded Laguna Niguel cityhood. Krembas has denied any impropriety and said he mistakenly signed the deed in the belief that it was part of another transaction.

Taylor Woodrow Homes executives maintain that Krembas’ signature was only ministerial. They say the transaction was legal and approved by the Orange County Planning Commission after “hundreds of hours of community meetings, discussions and public hearings.”

Laguna Niguel City Manager Tim Casey said Friday that the company’s suit was “not unexpected,” although he said he was unaware of a 90-day statute of limitations.

Laguna Niguel Councilman Paul M. Christiansen dismissed the suit as “part of a public relations program” by Taylor Woodrow Homes in the days before the opening of grand jury hearings into the matter.