Anaheim Council Is Likely to Appeal

The Anaheim City Council is expected to vote Tuesday to appeal the city’s defeat in its lawsuit against the Angels, a decision that could extend the court fight over the team’s name into 2008.

“I think we’ve been wronged,” Councilman Bob Hernandez said.

When the Angels added Los Angeles to their name last year, the city sued. In February, an Orange County Superior Court jury found the new name did not violate the stadium lease. By the time the appeals court rules, the Angels might have played three seasons under their new name.

“It is likely this season and next season will be completed by the time there would be a decision,” said Sheldon Eisenberg of the Santa Monica law firm Bryan Cave. He estimated that two-thirds of appeals are unsuccessful.

Councilman Harry Sidhu said he would not vote to appeal but expects a majority of the five-member council to do so. Hernandez and Councilman Richard Chavez each said he would vote to appeal, barring an unexpected last-minute settlement offer. Councilwoman Lorri Galloway said she would not decide before hearing from city attorneys Tuesday. Mayor Curt Pringle did not return several messages.

The lawyers representing Anaheim have billed the city $3.8 million through March 31, but Pringle has said they have offered to cap bills for an appeal at $150,000.

“We’ve spent the money already,” Hernandez said. “This is a small amount in comparison. It really makes sense.”

The city is believed to be willing to drop the appeal if the Angels do not pursue reimbursement of their legal bills. The court has yet to decide whether the city is liable for any or all of a tab that could exceed $7 million.

“Just because we might have to pay $7 [million] to $8 million, we should go ahead and appeal? I think that’s the wrong way to approach this,” Sidhu said. “We should move on, rather than trying to create more friction. The city should be seeing the Angels as a partner.”

The Angels’ stadium lease expires in 2016. In November, Angels owner Arte Moreno said, “If this gets put into appeals court, somewhere along the line you have to think about whether you’re gone.”

In January, Pringle said, “I believe, if the name of the team stays [as Los Angeles], the Angels may very well not be here in 10 years anyway.”

In an appeal, according to Chavez and Hernandez, the city would claim in part that Judge Peter Polos erred by not ordering jurors to consider the intent of the parties in interpreting the lease.

When Moreno bought the team from Walt Disney Co., he inherited a lease that requires the team name to “include the name Anaheim therein.” The lead lease negotiators for Anaheim and Disney each testified the language was not intended to allow the addition of another city to the name. A Disney executive involved in negotiations testified he had considered that possibility, although he said he could not recall telling that to city representatives.