PLAYA VISTA : Court Rejects Move to Collect Legal Fees

An environmental group that lost a lawsuit attempting to halt the mammoth Playa Vista development near Marina del Rey took some comfort last week as a judge rejected a motion by the developer to recover attorney’s fees.

Developer Maguire Thomas Partners had filed a motion Nov. 8 in Santa Monica Superior Court against Save Ballona Wetlands, asking for recovery of court and legal fees of almost $500,000 resulting from its successful defense of the lawsuit. Judge David Rothman rejected the portion of the motion that asked for attorney fees of $486,697 but ordered the environmental group to pay court costs of about $8,000.

Kathy Knight, treasurer of Save Ballona Wetlands, said that despite the ruling on court costs, the group is pleased.

“This is an important ruling--a victory for all citizen groups who are up against well-financed developers,” she said. “This was an attempt to discourage and intimidate any citizen’s group from challenging their project.”

Doug Gardner, project manager for Playa Vista and a vice president of Maguire Thomas Partners, said he was “disappointed but not surprised” by the decision.

“The major, real substantive issue was that the lawsuit was judged emphatically in our favor,” Gardner said.

Save Ballona Wetlands had filed suit in October, 1993, arguing that Playa Vista’s environmental impact report had failed to reveal the cumulative effects the project would have on traffic, air pollution and water quality. Opponents argued that Los Angeles authorities erred by approving the first phase before a master plan was in place.