Suit over Port of L.A. cargo terminal can proceed

Port officials said 15 of the island's more than 500 acres are still available for hazardous shipments. They also said the Army Corps of Engineers, which participated in the project, was told of the changes and signed modifications to the original plans.

A former corps commander in Los Angeles at the time has said, however, that he was unaware of the changes to the energy island project. A corps official also said the agency has not been able to find records showing that the port notified the corps of the shift in uses or that the corps approved the changes.

In giving Mosler a second chance, Otero said in his written decision that he had not provided Mosler enough notice that his case would be dismissed if he did not hire an attorney.

Court transcripts show that the judge repeatedly told Mosler about the benefits of having counsel but Otero noted that Mosler still had the right to represent himself. More significant, the judge said that "there is a good chance" Mosler would win his appeal to reinstate the suit.

dan.weikel@latimes.com