LOS ANGELES : Legal Opinion on Coliseum Manager’s Liability Sought
Los Angeles City Councilman Joel Wachs on Friday asked City Atty. James Hahn to prepare a legal opinion on whether Spectacor Management Group, managers of the Los Angeles Memorial Coliseum, is liable for damages for failing to give the Coliseum Commission a 1991 structural engineer’s report saying the stadium could be damaged in an earthquake.
With the report in hand three years ago, “the commission might have decided to pay to retrofit the structure,” Wachs said, and the millions of dollars in damage the Coliseum sustained in the Jan. 17 earthquake might have been avoided.
“Failure by Spectacor to notify the Coliseum Commission of potential damage is inexcusable,” the councilman added. “The City Council should pursue all legal and equitable remedies in the event that the city attorney determines that Spectacor was either negligent in its duties or may have otherwise acted in a manner which could result in liability.”
The report was turned over to the Coliseum Commission this week.
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