El Tovar battle fizzles

Alex Coolman

NORTHEAST GLENDALE -- One of the city’s most protracted legal wrangles

appears to be creeping toward resolution this month as the owners of the

El Tovar Drive mansion begin making improvements on the home.

A handful of laborers were at work Friday on the redbrick house at

3150 El Tovar Drive, which has been unoccupied and mired in lawsuits for

years.

Ramin Karjoo, son of owner Rahim Karjoo, said the goal of the work was

simple.

“We’re in the process of complying with all aspects of the building

permit to obtain a certificate of occupancy,” he said.

The tone of agreement is notably different from the approach taken by

the Karjoos in July, when they filed suit against the city.

In that suit, the Karjoos maintained that the city had “unlawfully

taken” the El Tovar property by declaring it a public nuisance and

insisting on full compliance with housing codes. The suit also charged

Glendale with bias and a violation of due process.

Since it was filed, the suit appears to have fizzled. Nossaman,

Guthner, Knox & Elliott, the Los Angeles firm that was representing the

Karjoos, requested to be released from representing their clients. A

spokeswoman for the firm was unable to provide any information on the

case Friday.

A Glendale Superior Court judge on Jan. 5 granted the firm’s request.

Ramin Karjoo declined to comment on the status of the suit, which is

scheduled to be heard Tuesday.

“There’s nothing legal going on,” he said. “We’re just hoping to

complete the project.”

Ambitions of bringing the home into compliance with city codes have

produced few results in the past. The city filed suit against the Karjoos

in 1997 because of prolonged delays in dealing with the building’s

numerous code violations.