Council approves $755K in legal expenses for lawsuit it says could bankrupt city
Facing a lawsuit from environmental groups requesting more than $100 million in damages for alleged water quality violations, the City Council approved nearly a million dollars in additional legal expenses for its defense.
By Knowles Adkisson / The Malibu Times
With a multimillion dollar lawsuit by environmental groups against the city headed for trial in November, the Malibu City Council voted unanimously Monday night to approve an additional $755,000 in funding for legal expenses related to its defense. The lawsuit, filed in 2008 by the National Resources Defense Council and Santa Monica Baykeeper, alleges violations of the Clean Water Act by the City of Malibu and requests damages of $105 million.
Specifically, the lawsuit alleges the city illegally discharged polluted water in the coastal preserve off western Malibu that is designated as an Area of Special Biological Significance (ASBS). It also holds the city responsible for exceeding levels of pollutants in Malibu Creek.
The legal expenses were not included in the city's recently passed fiscal year 2011-12 budget and will be taken from its reserve fund. Malibu City Manager Jim Thorsen said the money would cover previous costs related to the lawsuit, such as depositions and requests for records, as well as future costs for the impending trial.
Malibu Mayor John Sibert said city officials had attempted to resolve the dispute through mediation with the NRDC and Baykeeper, with no success. Sibert and other council members expressed outrage at being forced to allocate major sums to the continuing litigation in the face of what they view as intransigence from the environmental groups.
"This is all money that we have to spend that should be going to clean water, and that really disgusts me," Sibert said. "But we have to do this, because the alternative for the City of Malibu is bankruptcy, or something close to it."
Sibert said the city had spent millions of dollars in recent years on clean water projects such as the stormwater treatment facilities at Paradise Cove and Legacy Park, "addressing all the things that they're suing us about." He blamed a different lawsuit by Baykeeper regarding Legacy Park for costing the city a $5 million dollar water quality grant from the state, and said the city's environmental staff had been occupied responding to the current lawsuit instead of working on environmental issues.
Mayor Pro Tem Laura Rosenthal said the city's past reputation for inaction on water quality issues does not apply today.
"Sometimes you have to look at the momentum, where is a city moving, and how fast are they moving," Rosenthal said. "We're moving quickly, and we're moving in the right direction, and I think that needs to count for something."
Councilmember Jefferson Wagner sought to assure Malibu taxpayers their money was not being wasted frivolously. Wagner said Downey Brand Attorneys, LLC, the law firm hired by the city for its legal defense, was held in high regard by the state water board and had a great deal of credibility in Sacramento on water quality issues.
"The money, although it's a great deal of money, is being spent wisely as far as I've seen in the last couple years," Wagner said. "It's unfortunate that the amounts have become so extravagant."
Councilmember Lou La Monte also voiced his frustration with the process, as well as a warning to the NRDC and Baykeeper.
"I'd like them to know that we are going to court, and ultimately I think we are going to win this case," La Monte said. "Unfortunately, I think it's going to be after several lawyers have put their kids through college, and the water's not getting any cleaner."
By Knowles Adkisson / The Malibu Times
With a multimillion dollar lawsuit by environmental groups against the city headed for trial in November, the Malibu City Council voted unanimously Monday night to approve an additional $755,000 in funding for legal expenses related to its defense. The lawsuit, filed in 2008 by the National Resources Defense Council and Santa Monica Baykeeper, alleges violations of the Clean Water Act by the City of Malibu and requests damages of $105 million.
Specifically, the lawsuit alleges the city illegally discharged polluted water in the coastal preserve off western Malibu that is designated as an Area of Special Biological Significance (ASBS). It also holds the city responsible for exceeding levels of pollutants in Malibu Creek.
The legal expenses were not included in the city's recently passed fiscal year 2011-12 budget and will be taken from its reserve fund. Malibu City Manager Jim Thorsen said the money would cover previous costs related to the lawsuit, such as depositions and requests for records, as well as future costs for the impending trial.
Malibu Mayor John Sibert said city officials had attempted to resolve the dispute through mediation with the NRDC and Baykeeper, with no success. Sibert and other council members expressed outrage at being forced to allocate major sums to the continuing litigation in the face of what they view as intransigence from the environmental groups.
"This is all money that we have to spend that should be going to clean water, and that really disgusts me," Sibert said. "But we have to do this, because the alternative for the City of Malibu is bankruptcy, or something close to it."
Sibert said the city had spent millions of dollars in recent years on clean water projects such as the stormwater treatment facilities at Paradise Cove and Legacy Park, "addressing all the things that they're suing us about." He blamed a different lawsuit by Baykeeper regarding Legacy Park for costing the city a $5 million dollar water quality grant from the state, and said the city's environmental staff had been occupied responding to the current lawsuit instead of working on environmental issues.
Mayor Pro Tem Laura Rosenthal said the city's past reputation for inaction on water quality issues does not apply today.
"Sometimes you have to look at the momentum, where is a city moving, and how fast are they moving," Rosenthal said. "We're moving quickly, and we're moving in the right direction, and I think that needs to count for something."
Councilmember Jefferson Wagner sought to assure Malibu taxpayers their money was not being wasted frivolously. Wagner said Downey Brand Attorneys, LLC, the law firm hired by the city for its legal defense, was held in high regard by the state water board and had a great deal of credibility in Sacramento on water quality issues.
"The money, although it's a great deal of money, is being spent wisely as far as I've seen in the last couple years," Wagner said. "It's unfortunate that the amounts have become so extravagant."
Councilmember Lou La Monte also voiced his frustration with the process, as well as a warning to the NRDC and Baykeeper.
"I'd like them to know that we are going to court, and ultimately I think we are going to win this case," La Monte said. "Unfortunately, I think it's going to be after several lawyers have put their kids through college, and the water's not getting any cleaner."
No comments:
Post a Comment