Dos Vientos Fails in Bid to Dismiss Suit

A Van Nuys Superior Court judge Tuesday refused to dismiss a $661-million lawsuit filed by environmentalists against the developers of the 2,350-unit Dos Vientos housing project in Thousand Oaks.

The lawsuit claims that the developers committed fraud by misleading the City Council to win approval for an extension of Borchard Road that includes a 12% grade--steeper than city code allows.

“The court ruled that in spite of the myriad defenses presented by the developers, we have the right to go to trial,” said attorney Ed Masry, who filed the suit on behalf of Laura Lee Custodio and her Save Open Space group.

Judge Richard Wolfe said a trial date will be set after the developers have a chance to file an additional writ. Dos Vientos developers were not available for comment Tuesday.

The suit was filed under a “private attorney general” statute, which allows a private citizen to enforce public rights when the government fails to act.

Such statutes do not allow a citizen to stop a project, but they can force a defendant to “disgorge the profits” of the alleged wrongful conduct--in this case, surrender any profits from the sale of homes.

“When disgorged, those profits go back to the city of Thousand Oaks,” Masry said.

The city has been sued by the two developers, Operating Engineers Pension Trust in Pasadena and Miller Bros. Investments in Calabasas, for $104 million.