COSTA MESA : Ex-Concessionaire, Amburgey Settle Suit

The former concessions manager of the Costa Mesa Golf Course dropped his lawsuit against former Councilman Orville Amburgey this week, bringing to a close a longstanding legal battle between the two parties.

As part of a settlement reached this week, Tim Green agreed to pay Amburgey $1 and apologize to him for the lawsuit, which accused Amburgey of leading an effort to have Green fired by his own father, Harry Green, during a tangled business dispute. In return, Amburgey agreed not to sue Green over the matter.

Settlements with other defendants in the suit, including the city of Costa Mesa, have already been reached.

Calling Amburgey a “victim of rumors and innuendoes,” the apology professes Amburgey’s innocence. Tim Green and Harry S. Green Inc. “agree and admit that Orville Amburgey did not commit any acts as set out” in the lawsuit, the settlement document states.

The dispute began in 1988 when Harry and Tim Green wanted to take over the golf course’s coffee shop, catering services and refreshment stand. Harry Green had subcontracted with Catherine Hall-Shipley for those services for 11 years. When she refused to leave, the Greens filed a lawsuit to have her removed.

After that action, the City Council ordered the city manager to warn Harry Green by letter that his business could be found in violation of its contract with the city if he didn’t address several of the city’s concerns, including money owed to the city and Tim Green’s failure to lock the Country Club doors after closing. Harry Green fired his son a few weeks later.

In October, 1990, Tim Green filed a $1-million wrongful-termination lawsuit. He accused Amburgey, among other things, of having the computer links between the city manager’s office and the Police Department monitored in order to learn results of police investigations into Green’s activities.

The suit was filed just weeks before the November, 1990, election, which Amburgey lost.

Amburgey said Thursday that he was happy that he finally could clear his name. “This does more than money can buy,” he said. “This tells the public and the community the truth.”

The settlement comes several months after the city agreed to pay Harry S. Green Inc. $475,000 to put an end to its portion of the lawsuit. Under the terms of that agreement, which was reached in September, the city agreed to pay the money if the company dropped the lawsuit and vacated the concession business at the golf course.

W. Dave Wheeler, the attorney representing Green, said his client apologized to Amburgey in an effort to “get the case over with.”

“You have to remember Tim got paid (by the city). . . . When you weigh a $1 payment and an apology against nearly $500,000, it is pretty easy to see who won,” Wheeler said.

In a related action, Amburgey this week filed a lawsuit against the city to recover attorney’s fees. Although the city had agreed to pay Amburgey’s legal costs during the Green lawsuit, it discontinued paying in September, after reaching its separate settlement.

“We discontinued at such time we had reached a resolution of the issue with the Greens,” City Manager Allan L. Roeder said. “We felt that there was a conflict in the city paying for Mr. Amburgey’s fees because he was not willing at that time to terminate action.”

Amburgey is seeking $39,000 in attorneys’ fees, plus an additional $100,000 for mental suffering and emotional distress.

“I won’t roll over and play dead,” said Amburgey about the latest battle with the city. “They have tarnished the name Amburgey .”