Anaheim Councilman Says Panel Remains Unified

One day after several Anaheim City Council members suggested the council consider how long to fight the Angels in court and how much taxpayer money to spend doing so, Councilman Richard Chavez said Tuesday the council was “absolutely unified behind getting our name back.”

The city sued the Angels last week, charging that the change from Anaheim Angels to Los Angeles Angels of Anaheim breaks a stadium lease clause that requires the team name to “include the name Anaheim therein.” The city lost its bid for a temporary restraining order Friday, and Mayor Curt Pringle said Anaheim would not rush to settle even if it fails to win a preliminary injunction blocking the name change.

“The exit strategy is to win,” Pringle said.

Without that injunction -- the hearing is Jan. 21 -- the Angels could complete the season under the new name while the city runs up its legal tab pending a trial, and defeat in the hearing could make victory at trial unlikely.

“If you put the value of our name at tens of millions of dollars, we certainly have an interest in pursuing that,” Pringle said. “The cost of litigation is not the prime concern.”

After City Atty. Jack White and lead counsel Mike Rubin briefed the council for the first time since the lawsuit was filed, Chavez said his comments on Monday criticizing the city’s legal team for the vague lease clause at issue reflected his frustration, not with the lawyers, but with Angel owner Arte Moreno.

“We have a billionaire shoving us around, shoving our taxpayers around and shoving our fans around,” Chavez said.