Laguna Beach Ca Suits

A family that lost its home in the devastating Mystic Lane landslide in January filed suit Monday against the city and the Laguna Beach County Water District. Thomas and Gayla Hitzel claim leaks in underground water and sewage pipes weakened the earth beneath their $750,000 home, leading to the slide that destroyed it during the unusually rainy January. One other resident of the ocean-view neighborhood has filed suit against the city because of the slide. Three houses crumbled Jan.

Representatives of the Laguna Beach Festival of Arts said Friday that they will appeal the dismissal of their lawsuit against the city of Laguna Beach. The suit accused the city of violating the festival's First Amendment rights by charging exorbitant rent. U.S. Dist. Judge Alicemarie H. Stotler threw the case out on Aug. 17. The five-member festival board voted unanimously this week to file an appeal. The festival's lease with Laguna Beach expires in September 2001.

A police officer, fired after he was videotaped kicking a homeless man during an arrest outside of a wild party, had a quick temper and jumped into things without stopping to think, Police Chief Neil J. Purcell Jr. said Wednesday. In testimony before the city's Personnel Board, Purcell said the former officer's last performance review listed his temper as a problem. Purcell said he took "particular interest" in that evaluation when deciding to fire Keith R.

A federal judge Thursday dismissed a lawsuit the Festival of Arts filed against the city in December, alleging its first amendment rights had been violated because the city had been charging what the group felt was exorbitant rent--$585,000 last year. "We're elated," said Philip D. Kohn, the city's attorney. "We feel the court's ruling vindicates what we've been thinking all along, that the suit had no merit. We're hoping it causes the festival to reassess its situation."

After spending 20 days in Orange County Jail, a homeless man who claims a Laguna Beach police officer beat him during an arrest in June was ordered released Thursday while awaiting trial on a charge of resisting arrest. Municipal Judge Pamela L. Isles allowed Kevin A. Dunbar, 25, to go free on his own recognizance and accepted four guilty pleas from Dunbar's attorney on four other charges filed last summer, including drinking in public and having an open bottle of beer in a car.

To resolve a tangle of lawsuits stemming from a 1993 landslide that pitched three houses from their foundations, the city has agreed to spend $660,000 to buy the lots where the houses once stood. * City Manager Kenneth C. Frank said the city will likely begin restabilizing the hillside next week so the lots can be resold.

Police officers testified Tuesday that former Laguna Beach Officer Keith R. Knotek was justified when he kicked a homeless man who was struggling with them during an arrest that was captured on videotape last summer. But two other witnesses of the June, 1990, arrest in South Laguna testified before the city's Personnel Board that Knotek's kicking seemed excessive. The testimony came during an all-day hearing in which the board reviewed whether Chief Neil J.

The city has had three legal victories in the last two weeks, including one involving a $1-million lawsuit by a couple prohibited from moving into their new home because it was painted a lighter shade than the city had approved.

Chris Matano turned 21 Friday. He had wanted to be a cop in his hometown of Laguna Beach since he was 14 years old. As a high school student, he signed up for the city's Explorer program that let him ride around with police officers. He was a city parking control officer at 17 and a full-time reserve police officer at 18, with responsibilities for handling the booking and transporting of prisoners. Although only on reserve status, he regularly worked 40-hour weeks.

The City Council has rejected a $110-million claim filed against the city by the parents of a woman who drowned near Three Arch Bay this summer. Lynn Scollard, 30, a Huntington Beach resident, had been walking through tide pools inside a sea cave with a friend on June 23 when she was swept off a rocky ledge and into treacherous underwater currents. The friend was able to climb to safety, but Scollard was unable to escape. Rescue workers pulled her body from the ocean more than an hour later.

Violating terms of their 20-year lease with Laguna Beach, directors of the city's prestigious Festival of the Arts this week paid only $65,000 of their annual rent of $585,184, an amount they contend in a federal lawsuit is discriminatory. In a letter to Laguna Beach Mayor Kathleen Blackburn, Festival President Sherri Butterfield said the $65,000 represents what the arts organization should be paying. The balance, she wrote, will be deposited in a bank account pending settlement of the lawsuit.

The Festival of the Arts filed a federal lawsuit Monday against Laguna Beach, contending that the high rent charged by the city is discriminatory and a violation of the nonprofit group's 1st Amendment rights. The city offered last week to reduce the festival's rent by about $11,000 annually, but organizers weren't satisfied. The suit asks the court to order the city to charge fair market rent and seeks unspecified damages.

The Festival of the Arts filed a federal lawsuit Monday against the city of Laguna Beach, claiming that the high rent charged by the city is discriminatory and a violation of the nonprofit group's 1st Amendment rights. The city offered last week to reduce the festival's rent by about $11,000, but organizers weren't satisfied. The suit asks the court to order the city to charge fair market rent and seeks unspecified damages.

The president of the prestigious Festival of Arts on Sunday said the group is considering suing Laguna Beach for more favorable lease conditions. The nonprofit plans to announce its next move today in what has been a contentious, three-year-long lease negotiation with city officials. Laguna Beach, which has a 67-year relationship with the internationally known festival, offered the group a small lease reduction last week.

Laguna Beach prides itself on being an artists' colony. But a lawsuit filed this week by a property owner accuses the city of being more a critic than a patron of the arts. The owner is seeking the right to rent out downtown commercial space to the Addi Galleries chain after the City Council last month rejected the proposal, citing an over-concentration of such businesses in the area. Downtown Laguna Beach is home to a dozen galleries--with seven on Forest Avenue, where the property is located.

It began as a dispute between neighbors on Keller Way over three barking dogs. But after three years of countless police complaints, citizens' arrests, restraining orders and lawsuits, it is headed for a federal courtroom. Robert Smith, chairman of the city's Parking, Traffic and Circulation Committee, is suing the city, two police officers and two of his neighbors in a $5-million civil rights lawsuit expected to go to federal court in Los Angeles on April 28.

Totuava Bay, a breathtaking sliver of sand and sea flanked by towering bluffs, boasts one of the more pristine and secluded beaches in South Laguna. But for some local residents, the beauty is marred by a 10-foot-high chain-link fence, topped with as many as six strands of barbed wire to keep outsiders from climbing over.

Representatives of the Laguna Beach Festival of Arts said Friday that they will appeal the dismissal of their lawsuit against the city of Laguna Beach. The suit accused the city of violating the festival's First Amendment rights by charging exorbitant rent. U.S. Dist. Judge Alicemarie H. Stotler threw the case out on Aug. 17. The five-member festival board voted unanimously this week to file an appeal. The festival's lease with Laguna Beach expires in September 2001.

Ending a 14-year legal dispute that once threatened to bankrupt the municipal government, city officials will pay nearly $1 million to settle a lawsuit filed by property owners in a rural hillside community who sued to have streets installed so they could build homes on the land.