City Loses Bid for Delay of Lawsuit by Developer
The city of Los Angeles, fighting a lawsuit over its rejection of a commercial development on Warner Ridge in Woodland Hills, will not get the five-month delay it said is needed to develop a case that the thwarted developers took a big gamble and can’t complain that they lost.
Superior Court Judge Kathryn Doi Todd on Monday denied a request by the city attorney’s office, saying the city has had ample time to prepare for trial in the case, now scheduled to begin Jan. 27.
The extra time was needed to discover whether Warner Ridge Associates--whose project the city blocked--tried to buy Pierce College’s support for its controversial project, how much money it spent on lobbyists and what banks turned down the partnership’s loan applications, Deputy City Atty. Tony Blain said.
The developer’s lawsuit claims that the city, led by Councilwoman Joy Picus, illegally quashed the company’s plans to build an 810,000-square-foot commercial project on its 21.5-acre property in Woodland Hills.
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