Judge Dismisses Lawsuit Over Santa Clarita Oak

A Los Angeles judge Monday dismissed a breach-of-contract lawsuit brought against a developer by the environmental group responsible for activist John Quigley’s highly publicized protest in a threatened oak tree in the Santa Clarita Valley.

Members of the Santa Clarita Organization for Planning the Environment, or SCOPE, wanted a jury to hear its allegations that developer John Laing Homes broke a 1999 promise to save the tree known as Old Glory.

Instead, Los Angeles Superior Court Judge John P. Shook dismissed the complaint, which also accused Laing of fraud and unfair business practices.

Still pending are the developer’s counterclaims accusing Quigley of trespassing, and SCOPE of trespassing and libel. The company is seeking unspecified damages.

At SCOPE’s invitation, Quigley climbed high into the tree Nov. 1, 2002, living in its branches until the court ordered him out Jan. 10. The protest garnered worldwide media attention, and the developer eventually devised a plan to move the tree a few hundred yards down the road.

The move, which involves boxing the tree’s roots and building a massive trailer to carry it, could come as early as mid-January, said Bill Rattazzi, president of Laing’s L.A.-Ventura division.

“I’m very pleased with the court’s decision, and we are moving forward with the goal of saving the tree by relocating it,” Rattazzi said.

Lynne Plambeck, president of SCOPE, maintains that moving the tree will kill it. In court documents, her group alleged that Laing promised to redesign its nearby subdivision and a road-widening project so that the tree wouldn’t have to be moved.

On Monday, Plambeck said she would appeal Shook’s decision.

“We didn’t get our day in court before a jury, like we asked for,” Plambeck said.

A final status conference in the case is scheduled for Dec. 4.