Administrative
Report
H.14., File # 24-0269 Meeting Date: 2/20/2024
To: MAYOR AND CITY COUNCIL
From: MICHAEL W. WEBB, CITY ATTORNEY
TITLE
APPROVE THE AGREEMENT FOR LEGAL SERVICES WITH RICHARDS, WATSON & GERSHON
EXECUTIVE SUMMARY
This Agreement for Legal Services with Richards Watson & Gershon will amend the billing rates for the attorneys who will be working on legal matters.
BACKGROUND
Attorney Lisa Bond and her team at Richards Watson & Gershon have assisted the City of Redondo Beach on various legal matters, starting in the tenure of Jerry Goddard as City Attorney and continuing to the present.
In those more than 23 years, the matters that they have assisted with include:
City of Redondo Beach v. State of California and Alex Padilla, as Secretary of State, Los Angeles Superior Court Case No. BS172218, Court of Appeal Case No. B294016, 46 Cal.App.5th 902 (2020) In this case, the City of Redondo Beach won an appeal that upheld the constitutional authority of charter cities to schedule their own elections. The Court of Appeal’s published decision involving Senate Bill No. 415 prohibits the California Secretary of State from forcing charter cities to reschedule their municipal elections to the same date as statewide general elections. The California Constitution expressly authorizes charter cities to select dates for their local elections. However, since January 1, 2018, the California Voter Participation Rights Act has required cities to schedule their local elections on the same date as statewide general elections if voter turnout in a previous local election failed to reach a specified threshold. There was uncertainty whether the Legislature intended the Act to apply to charter cities, but the California Attorney General had opined prior to the lawsuit that the statute applied to all cities. In response, Redondo Beach sued the Secretary of State to block enforcement of the Act against charter cities. The trial court ruled in Redondo Beach’s favor, prohibiting enforcement of the Act against charter cities. In a published decision filed March 23, 2020, the Court of Appeal affirmed the judgment, ensuring that charter cities retain the authority to choose the dates on which to hold their local elections.
Verizon California, Inc. and Verizon Online, LLC v. City of Redondo Beach, Los Angeles Superior Court Case No. BC585626, Court of Appeal Case No. B275946 In this matter, Verizon filed a complaint that contained nine causes of action, seeking a refund from the City of video user’s tax in the amount of over $500,000 plus interest. Richards Watson &
H.14., File # 24-0269 Meeting Date: 2/20/2024
the City of video user’s tax in the amount of over $500,000 plus interest. Richards Watson & Gershon obtained a ruling from the trial court sustaining the City’s demurrer without leave to amend as to all causes of action as to the bulk of the assessment period. The court found that Verizon’s claims were barred as to that time period because (1) Verizon failed to timely seek a writ from the prior decision of the independent hearing officer in favor of the City; and (2) collateral estoppel prevented relitigation of that claim. Consequently, Verizon abandoned the small remaining portion of the claim and the court entered judgment in favor of the City. Although Verizon appealed the decision, it ultimately requested that the court dismiss the appeal. In connection with this work on the Verizon matter, the City received payments from Verizon totaling over $900,000.
New Commune DTLA, LLC and Leonid Pustilnikov v. City of Redondo Beach, Los Angeles Superior Court Case No. 22TRCP00203
In this case, the plaintiffs filed a petition seeking a writ of mandate to compel compliance with California housing element law, erroneously contending that the City’s adopted housing element did not substantially comply with California law. Richards Watson & Gershon obtained a complete victory in favor of the City. The October 30, 2023 final ruling from the court denied the petition for writ of administrative mandamus in its entirety. The court found that the City’s housing element substantially complied with the law and that it was compliant as of July 5, 2022, the day the City adopted it. This case has the potential to moot the basis of challenges in other pending cases against the City, for example, arguments that developers are entitled to invoke the “builder’s remedy” provision of the Housing Accountability Act because the City did not have a housing element that complied with state law in place at the time developers submitted preliminary applications.
City of Redondo Beach v. Madani, et al.; Los Angeles Superior Court Case No. 21STCV11444 In this eminent domain case, Richards Watson & Gershon successfully defended the City.
Specifically, on January 3, 2024, the Court in the Madani eminent domain case issued a proposed statement of decision in favor of the City, ruling that the City properly exercised its “right to take” and the requirements therein, that the City had not irrevocably committed itself to the project and that the City’s adoption of its resolution was not a gross abuse of discretion.
The hourly rates Richards Watson and Gershon charges the City of Redondo Beach has not changed since 2015. This Agreement would change the blended hourly rate for attorney time to $295 from $260 and the rate for paralegals to $195 from $180.
COORDINATION
The Agreement has been approved by Richards Watson & Gershon and has been approved as to form by the City Attorney’s Office.
ATTACHMENTS
· Agreement for Legal Services with Richards, Watson & Gershon · Richards, Watson & Gershon firm info
· Lisa Bond biography