Anaheim Won’t Drop Angel Suit

As the Anaheim City Council meets today to determine how to proceed in its lawsuit against the Angels, Councilwoman Lorri Galloway says dropping the case is not an option.

“We’re thinking about which way to go,” Galloway said Monday. “We’re not thinking about which way to stop.”

The council could consider an appeal of the ruling Jan. 21 by Orange County Superior Court Judge Peter Polos, who refused to stop the Angels from doing business as the Los Angeles Angels of Anaheim.

The city could proceed simultaneously with an appeal and with the suit itself, which alleges that the Angels’ new name violates their stadium lease.

Polos ruled that the city had “failed to show a reasonable probability” of winning the suit. A trial might not start for months and could subject Anaheim taxpayers to a million-dollar legal bill.

At its meeting last week, the council discussed legal options provided by three law firms besides Rutan and Tucker, the Costa Mesa firm representing Anaheim in the case.

“No one talked about dropping it,” Galloway said. “No one talked about settlement.”

Mayor Curt Pringle said he expected the council to approve a legal strategy today.

“I hope we’ll have a very clear action plan,” he said.

State law provides the city with two avenues to appeal the Jan. 21 ruling, but such appeals are rarely granted and could take months to be heard, said Sheldon Eisenberg, who handles intellectual property and entertainment litigation for the Santa Monica law firm Bryan Cave.

Besides dropping the case, settling, appealing or proceeding to trial, Eisenberg said, the only legal option he could envision would involve the city’s finding a way to terminate the lease and kick the Angels out of the stadium.

That option is not under consideration, Pringle said.

“We are seeking enforcement of the lease,” he said. “We want both parties to live by it.”