California Courts of Appeal
Jun. 4, 2016
Appellate court overturns anti-SLAPP motion in breach of contract suit
The case of a Carson landowner suing the city for allegedly replacing him as the agent in charge of bringing an NFL team to the area will continue after a 2nd District Court of Appeal reversed a trial court's ruling.
Daily Journal Staff Writer
A breach of contract suit against the city of Carson over negotiations to bring an NFL team to town will continue after an appellate court overruled a trial court's anti-SLAPP ruling.
Plaintiff's attorneys allege landowner Richard Rand entered into an agreement with the city to be the agent in charge of negotiating with the NFL to bring a team to the city, but the city breached the agreement by letting developer Leonard Bloom act on the city's behalf in discussions.
The defense said Bloom never replaced Rand as an agent, and that the mayor was permitted to talk to anyone he pleased, citing free speech protection. "[Bloom] was talking about building a complex, not to be become a representative to the NFL," said Sunny Soltani, city attorney for Carson and partner at Aleshire & Wynder LLP.
Los Angeles County Superior Court Judge Michael L. Stern granted the defense's anti-SLAPP motion, and citing Tuchscher Development Enterprises, Inc. v. San Diego Unified Port Dist. D038811 (Cal. App. 4th Dist, March 13, 2003), wrote "communications involving the proposed development of such commercial property fall into the 'matter of public interest' portion of the statute."
The 2nd District Court of Appeal reversed the decision on Tuesday, however, writing "The mere fact that some speech occurred in the course of the asserted breach does not mean that the cause of action arises out of protected free speech.
"The Bloom defendants, the city, and [former Mayor James] Dear made efforts to conceal their meetings and communications with one another, including using confidential e-mails to discuss matters related to the prospective stadium," wrote Justice Elwood Lui.
Justices Victoria Gerrard Chaney and Jeffery W. Johnson concurred. Rand Resources LLC v. City of Carson et al. B264493 (Cal. App. 2nd Dist, filed May 31, 2016).
"We've always viewed this as a business case involving standard breach of contract," said Joseph J. Ybarra, partner at Huang Ybarra Singer & May LLP and counsel to plaintiff-appellants, in an interview. "It had nothing to do with exercising their First Amendment rights."
Ybarra said he doesn't know why the mayor was speaking with Bloom. "We haven't been able to get discovery yet because it is early stages of the case. That's something we hope to learn and discover."
Soltani, who said she is considering a writ before the state Supreme Court, said evidence will show the former mayor was the only one speaking to Bloom from the city council. "The facts will show that Mr. Bloom was never supposed to be the city's representative. He was a developer and was interested in building a stadium. We're very, very confident that the city will prevail."
In an earlier case alleging a violation of civil rights, Rand prevailed in federal court over allegations Dear tried to extract a bribe from him.
The city appealed but Rand agreed to stay his cross-appeal and refrain from enforcing the judgment in exchange for an agreement from the city to allow him exclusive negotiating rights regarding the development of the sports complex. Rand v. City of Carson et. al. 03-CV1913 (C.D. Cal., Dec. 11, 2006).
justin_kloczko@dailyjournal.com
Justin Kloczko
justin_kloczko@dailyjournal.com
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