GRANADA HILLS : Bernson’s Libel Suit Against Landfill Firm Dismissed
A Los Angeles Superior Court judge dismissed a lawsuit Thursday by Councilman Hal Bernson alleging that a Granada Hills landfill operator libeled him by leaking false information about his use of public funds for travel.
Judge Gary Klausner threw out Bernson’s suit against Browning-Ferris Industries, a BFI executive and two consultants after the firm’s attorney argued that a one-year statute of limitations had expired. The suit sought $20 million.
BFI has long been at odds with Bernson and neighbors of the firm’s Sunshine Canyon landfill. The councilman helped persuade city officials to sue BFI and the county to block a 200-acre expansion of the dump, which straddles the city-county border. Bernson’s suit charged that BFI and others leaked a 19-page dossier falsely saying that he double-billed the city and his private campaign kitty for personal travel.
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