Jury Will Settle Dispute Between Shuster, Irvine Co.

Orange County’s nastiest tenant-landlord dispute is headed for trial after the Irvine Co. on Wednesday failed to get a judge to evict businessman Harry Shuster from 300 acres of ground near the El Toro Y.

The ruling by Orange County Superior Court Judge Mason L. Fenton to deny the Irvine Co. immediate possession of its property means that a jury will now decide who has the right to control the parcel on which Shuster’s lease expired Feb. 28.

The 5- to 10-day trial is scheduled to begin Monday, and Shuster attorney Wayne Call expressed eagerness to square off with the land giant in front of a panel.

“We’re pleased and delighted,” Call said. “We’re looking forward to our day in court.”

However, Irvine Co. officials said they are confident they will regain control of their land, even though their bid for a quick judgment was denied Wednesday.

“We would have liked the matter to be resolved sooner than later,” Irvine Co. spokesman Larry Thomas said. “But we’re prepared to make our case in front of a jury.”

Shuster is battling for the right to extend his master lease with the Irvine Co. and to continue collecting rent from existing subtenants on the property--the Irvine Meadows Amphitheatre and Wild Rivers water park.

Although his lease expired at the end of February, Shuster has refused to relinquish control of the property, claiming an Irvine Co. negotiator made an oral agreement to extend the lease an additional 26 years if the parcel continued to be used for recreational purposes. Shuster contends that the Irvine Co. is trying to swipe his tenants without compensating him for bringing them to the property.

The Irvine Co. denies Shuster’s claims and argues that he has no right to remain on the property past the written lease term.

However, even if the Irvine Co. succeeds in evicting Shuster, the long-running feud appears far from over.

If Shuster ultimately fails to win a lease extension, his attorneys say, he will press forward with earlier threats to demolish the amphitheater and water park rather than leave two profitable tenants for his old nemesis.