Group Seeking to Halt Subway Dealt Setback by Judge’s Ruling

Several community groups seeking to halt Metro Rail subway construction beneath Hollywood and the Santa Monica Mountains were dealt a setback Monday when a federal judge ruled they failed to prove they have legal standing to pursue the case.

But U.S. District Judge John Davies gave the Hollywood Boulevard Community Council and four other organizations another 20 days to refile their lawsuit.

In a brief decision, Davies found that the community groups failed in their initial complaint to show that “they have suffered or will suffer any injury” from construction of the Red Line subway.

Lawrence Teeter, attorney for the groups, said he will refile the case and prove that “our people have already been adversely affected by the actions” of the Metropolitan Transportation Authority and the federal government.

The suit alleges that the MTA and U.S. Department of Transportation violated federal law by failing to adequately consider the environmental impact of subway construction on the Hollywood historic district and the potential effect of building an 850-foot-deep subway ventilation shaft near Runyon Canyon park in the Santa Monica Mountains.

Benjamin Reznik, attorney for the MTA, said the transportation agency believes that the community groups’ opposition to the subway construction came “way too late” in the environmental impact review process.