Judge Withdraws From Demolition Case

In a surprising and emotional hearing Wednesday, a judge recused himself from hearing a request by the city to tear down 16 acres worth of vacant buildings, further delaying efforts to remove what many consider a prominent eyesore.

The city of Santa Ana filed a lawsuit against Cooper Fellowship in June, alleging that the buildings it owns at 2828 N. Bristol St. had become a nuisance and asking that they be torn down.

Even Ronald Davis, the attorney for the property owner, has said that his client wants the buildings demolished.

But Davis has argued that the Resolution Trust Corp., which has a financial interest in the property, also must agree to the demolition.

During Wednesday’s hearing, Judge Jack K. Mandel said that Resolution has not clearly done that.

Then, when Davis mentioned that Resolution had been taken over by the Federal Deposit Insurance Corp., Mandel recused himself.

He later said he wanted to avoid the appearance of conflict of interest but did not elaborate.

“I’ve just made your job easier,” Mandel told the attorneys. “I hereby recuse myself. The case will be assigned to someone else.”

Attorneys speculated that the case probably would not be reassigned for a couple of weeks.

About half a dozen city officials attended the hearing, along with another half a dozen residents who say their property values have fallen because of the buildings.

After the hearing, they angrily blamed Davis for the delays.

“Don’t make us the evil people,” Davis replied.