Legal Fees Distort Noise Lawsuit

The Orange County Fair should call to mind games and food, agriculture and animals. It should not conjure up the State of California trying to get $3.3 million in legal fees from two Costa Mesa residents who complained about noise.

A judge has the chance to defuse the state’s threat next month. If any legal fees are due, they certainly should not be at the absurd level of $3.3 million.

The Costa Mesa fairgrounds is the site of the Pacific Amphitheatre, known since its opening in 1982 for loud rock music and lawsuits from neighbors saying that music was too loud.

Six years ago, the builder of the arena, the Nederlander Organization, sold the amphitheater to the state, which owns the fairgrounds. Nederlander still had 30 years left on its lease. After the $12.5-million sale, the state said it had not been adequately advised about noise restrictions. For years there have been no concerts at the amphitheater. The state sued Nederlander, which last year settled and paid the state $16 million.

Two women who lived near the fairgrounds persisted in seeking noise limits even after the settlement. When they lost, a judge ruled they would have to pay court costs, which is common in lawsuits. They also were ordered to pay the fair’s “reasonable” attorney fees, which does not always happen.

The state decided $4.3 million was a reasonable figure for legal fees. Obviously, it’s not. Then the state lowered the bill to $3.3 million. That’s not reasonable either.

An attorney for the fair said a lawyer who for years sued over noise on behalf of nearby homeowners had to be stopped. The fair’s representative said he hoped the lawyer would warn neighbors that they could be severely penalized for filing frivolous lawsuits.

But fair officials should remember that earlier lawsuits by neighbors over noisy concerts were successful, not frivolous. At one point the city of Costa Mesa joined in the legal action, and noise levels were adjusted downward. Trying to punish a lawyer by hanging a multimillion-dollar millstone around the necks of two of his clients is unfair. Fair officials also need to ensure that if concerts resume, they inflict as little noise-induced harm on the neighborhood as possible.