On the heels of the Metro Expo Line opening in May, the Los Angeles County Board of Supervisors quietly approved a nearly $20 million payout to the city of Santa Monica for the parcel of land at the rail line’s terminus.
The 402 Colorado Ave. property had been the subject of a lawsuit filed by the Exposition Metro Line Construction Authority – an organization formed to oversee the new line’s construction – in October 2014. At issue was whether the Expo authority should have to pay a premium for the city-owned property, according to court documents. The city had previously rebuffed a $14.4 million county offer.
In a case that is likely unique in California history, the Metro authority argued that since the property was subject to use restriction – the purchase agreement specifically said it could only be used in conjunction with a public transportation project – the land’s value was lessened on the real estate market.
“For purposes of an eminent domain valuation, the city of Santa Monica couldn’t go out and sell it on the open market because of the use restriction,” said Brad Kuhn, the chair of downtown L.A.-based Nossaman’s eminent domain and land-use valuation practice, who litigated the case along with David Graeler, the firm’s litigation chair, on behalf of the transit agency.
While the settlement scuttled any chance to make new law, Kuhn predicted the litigation would impact transit authorities’ decision-making going forward.
“One lesson learned is that if agencies are going to start doing these long-term project plans, they need to really clearly document what is going to happen when the project finally comes to fruition,” Kuhn said.
Zeppelin Sidesteps Suit
The steps of the “Stairway to Heaven” still lead to Led Zeppelin.
After a weeklong trial, a federal jury in Los Angeles deliberated for less than a day before finding the legendary rock band did not steal the iconic guitar riff from Spirit’s 1968 instrumental track “Taurus.”
The lawsuit, brought by Spirit songwriter Robert Wolfe’s estate, sought to supplant Led Zeppelin as the creative force behind the band’s 1971 hit. The lawsuit, filed last year, claimed the songs were “substantially similar” and that the estate was owed tens of millions of dollars in royalties. Days of testimony, which included appearances by Led Zeppelin band members Robert Plant and Jimmy Page, as well as musicologists and other experts, convinced a jury otherwise.
Page and Plant issued a joint statement after the verdict expressing relief.
“We are grateful for the jury’s conscientious service and pleased that it has ruled in our favor, putting to rest questions about the origins of ‘Stairway to Heaven’ and confirming what we have known for 45 years,” the statement reads. “We appreciate our fans’ support and look forward to putting this legal matter behind us.”
Several subsidiaries of New York-based Warner Music Group would have also been on the hook if the jury had ruled in the Wolfe estate’s favor.
Led Zeppelin was represented by Santa Monica solo practitioner Peter Anderson.
Michael Skidmore, trustee for Wolfe’s estate, was represented by Philadelphia-based Francis Malofiy.
Hospital Origins
Martin Luther King Jr. Community Hospital was in such bad shape in 2007 that county officials were forced to shut it down. The closure left more than 1 million people in South Los Angeles without ready access to emergency medical care. The hospital reopened last June as a unique hybrid between public and private stakeholders.
One of the key architects of the hospital’s public-private setup is downtown attorney Manny Abascal of Latham & Watkins. As chairman of the hospital’s board, Abascal began working to turn a short coordination agreement between the county and the University of California Health System into a full-fledged plan to reopen the hospital.
“It was very conceptual,” Abascal said.
Ultimately, the board worked up an agreement in which the county would fund the hospital, the UC system would provide doctors, and a nonprofit entity would handle the actual administration.
After one year in operation, the hospital’s internal metrics show widespread success, said Abascal.
“I think we’ve provided a really good model and would love to see it replicated elsewhere,” he said. “It takes the best of the public, private, and nonprofit models and blends them together.”
Legal Landscape
Akin Gump Strauss Hauer & Feld has added partner Neal Marder to its Century City office. Marder joins the firm from Winston & Strawn where he chaired the consumer class-action practice group. … Nilay Vora jumped from downtown’s Lee Tran & Liang to Jeffer Mangels Butler & Mitchell’s Century City office as an of counsel. … Fox Rothschild added former DC Entertainment in-house counsel Rick Smith to its Century City office as counsel.
Staff reporter Henry Meier can be reached at [email protected] or (323) 549-5225, ext. 221.
