Judge Tentatively Denies Motions in Freeway Suit

A federal judge on Monday tentatively denied motions from federal and state attorneys to dismiss large parts of a South Pasadena lawsuit that seeks to block construction of the proposed Long Beach Freeway extension through that city and surrounding communities.

However, in his tentative ruling, U.S. District Judge Dean D. Pregerson did dismiss a South Pasadena allegation that a congressman interfered in the federal approval of the project by swapping his support on a foreign trade bill for the Clinton administration’s support of the extension.

Antonio Rossmann, the attorney representing South Pasadena, said he was generally pleased with the ruling and that it sets the stage for the judge to decide on whether to grant a preliminary injunction to prevent any work on the 6.2-mile freeway through Pasadena, South Pasadena and Los Angeles.

The judge rejected arguments by Caltrans attorneys that the U.S. Constitution precludes suits against the state by its citizens in federal court. The state Department of Transportation waived such a right by agreeing in 1973 to allow another federal judge to oversee another case on the extension, Pregerson noted.

Pregerson also rejected federal attorneys’ efforts to dismiss South Pasadena’s allegations that the freeway extension would violate clean air rules.