Agenda Item
City Council
Item #: 3.6. 1/11/2022 File #: 22-0007
TO: Honorable Mayor and Members of the City Council
THRU: Thomas R. Hatch, Interim City Manager
FROM: Gary A. Sheatz, City Attorney
1. SUBJECT
First Amendment to Attorney Services Agreement with The Sohagi Law Group to provide legal services related to a California Environmental Quality Act (CEQA) challenge to the approval of the Ronald McDonald House expansion.
2. SUMMARY
The City currently has an agreement with The Sohagi Law Group, to provide legal services related to CEQA challenge to the approval of the Ronald McDonald House expansion, for an amount not to exceed $30,000. This matter is actively litigated, and includes settlement negotiations and discussions between the City, Real Party in Interest, and several of the Petitioners, and the amount of the original agreement will soon be expended. The proposed First Amendment will increase the agreement amount by $50,000 for a total amount not to exceed $80,000.
3. RECOMMENDED ACTION
1. Approve a First Amendment to Attorney Services Agreement with The Sohagi Law Group in the amount of $50,000 and authorize the Mayor and City Clerk to execute on behalf of the City.
2. Authorize the appropriation of $50,000 from the General Fund unreserved fund balance to expenditure account number 100.0301.51600.00000, General Fund - Legal Services.
4. FISCAL IMPACT
The total expenditure for this amendment is $50,000 and will be funded through General Fund (100).
5. STRATEGIC PLAN GOALS
Goal 2: Be a fiscally healthy community
a. Expend fiscal resources responsibly.
6. DISCUSSION AND BACKGROUND
While the City Attorney’sOffice handles most litigation matters in-house, the City does contract with outside counsel when the complexity of a case or a significant burden to staff time requires additional staffing expertise. The litigation in this case involves allegations under the California Environmental Quality Act (CEQA) and as is common with CEQA litigation, requires the time consuming compilation of an extensive administrative record, a lengthy briefing schedule, and preparation for trial scheduled under a compressed timeline. The CEQA litigation process involves technical issues and complex remedies which are time consuming and would over-burden in-house legal staff.
The City has retained the law firm of The Sohagi Law Group to provide legal services with respect to City of Orange Printed on 1/5/2022Page 1 of 2
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Item #: 3.6. 1/11/2022 File #: 22-0007
The City has retained the law firm of The Sohagi Law Group to provide legal services with respect to litigation defense in the matter of Acken, et al., v. City of Orange. The Sohagi Law Group provides services to public entities exclusively, specializing in CEQA litigation.
The First Amendment of the agreement, to increase the not to exceed amount to $80,000, is necessary to carry out further defense of the City in this case. Pursuant to the conditions of approval under the entitlements issued in the Ronald McDonald House expansion, the City will seek reimbursement of legal fees from Real Party in Interest related to the defense of the CEQA litigation.
7. ATTACHMENTS
· First Amendment to Attorney Services Agreement
City of Orange Printed on 1/5/2022Page 2 of 2
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