For Yorba Linda, It’s ‘Year of Lawsuits’; City Faces 22 Cases

Even after a $231,000 settlement with City Manager Arthur C. Simonian on Tuesday that ended three high-profile lawsuits, Yorba Linda finds itself swamped with an unprecedented 22 lawsuits.

The litigation facing the city of 60,000 residents has more than tripled its usual legal expenses to $1.6 million for fiscal year 1999-2000.

The year’s lawsuits range from injury claims and protests over a road-widening to landslides and a wrongful death suit.

“This is an extraordinary situation,” said City Atty. Leonard Hampel. “For a city this size to be facing so many lawsuits in a year is amazing.”

Neighboring Fullerton, twice the size of Yorba Linda, is involved in 21 lawsuits while Laguna Hills, about half Yorba Linda’s size, faces two.

Irvine is in the middle of nine major lawsuits, not counting claims. But judging a city’s legal activity by the number of lawsuits can be tricky, said Irvine’s City Atty. Joel Kuperberg.

“Sometimes 50 lawsuits can come out of one issue,” he said. Irvine was in that situation about five years ago when the city proposed widening Jamboree Road and Main Street, he said.

“It does have some significance but just the number can sometimes be misleading,” he said.

Hampel, who doubles as city attorney for Yorba Linda and Villa Park, said the lawsuits seek damages of more than $25 million.

Among the suits still pending:

* The city has been named as a defendant in a $10-million wrongful death lawsuit filed by the family of 17-year-old Chad MacDonald, a Yorba Linda police informant murdered in Los Angeles in 1998. The city will have to defend the case vigorously to be eligible for insurance benefits, said Hampel.

* The Placentia-Yorba Linda School District has filed an $8-million lawsuit against the city’s Redevelopment Agency, alleging the agency did not make several payments due to the district over the years.

* Four Hidden Hills residents sued for landslide damages to their property. Each suit amounts to $2 million, Hampel said. The city is also suing developer Pacific Scene, which has gone out of business.

Yorba Linda is also facing five environmental lawsuits, claiming the city violated the California Environmental Quality Act, each involving a different issue. Although these do not seek large damages, it is unusual for a city to face so many at one time, said Hampel.

“We haven’t had one CEQA suit in Yorba Linda in the last 15 years,” he said. “And suddenly, we have five.” One of those is connected with the city’s widening of Imperial Highway, part of the countywide Smart Street project funded by Measure M transportation tax.

The city also faced heavy legal expenses over a web of lawsuits related to Simonian.

On paid administrative leave since September, Simonian fought a legal battle with the city, which had sued him to recover as much as $500,000 in bonuses he allegedly paid himself without proper authorization. Simonian had denied any wrongdoing and was suing to get his job back.

As of April, the city had spent more than $200,000 on attorney fees in the case.

But with the recent settlement, Hampel is optimistic that the end is near for many of the lawsuits.

“The bright side I think is many of these lawsuits will be settled by the end of the year,” he said. “The resolution of the Simonian issue is a step in that direction.”