City Hall will receive $85K in attorney fees
CITY HALL — The political sandstorm kicked up in September 2000 over a 4-year-old’s backyard playhouse has finally, and seemingly permanently, passed.
Five months after the California Supreme Court declined to hear their appeal, Santa Monica residents David and Beth Levy agreed last week to pay City Hall $85,000 in lawyer fees. The Levys had claimed foul play after city officials deemed their son Jacob’s 12-foot-tall playhouse illegal.
According to the terms of the settlement, the Levys are required to pay $50,000 to City Hall immediately. Another $35,000 must be paid within six months, or else the total amount of the settlement will be increased to $120,000, city officials said.
“We certainly weighed the pros and cons and discussed them with the Levys,” said Ken Kutcher, who represented the Levys alongside his law practice partner, Chris Harding. “And we’re disappointed with the way the court hearings went and these proceedings went in the appellate court, and then the lack of the ability to get the supreme court to take the case. At this point, it’s probably best for everybody in this case to put this matter behind us.
“We went back and forth about a sum,” Kutcher added. “It’s a sum that’s going to take some effort to get there, but at this point I think it’s better for everybody to just move on — the city had demanded more money initially.”
Kutcher said the Levys already began fundraising to help pay off the bill, adding there were a handful of local residents supportive of the lawsuit who were expected to contribute. As to the legal work his firm did for the Levys, Kutcher said there would be no bill.
“Our time is just time that we spent on a matter that we thought was important to try and right some wrongs that economics-wise, were difficult to handle,” he added.
City Councilman Ken Genser said he was relieved taxpayers will be reimbursed for City Hall’s legal fees and called the suit a waste of time.
“I’m very glad,” Genser said. “It was a frivolous lawsuit. It was one that didn’t need to be filed. I personally called the Levys and said I was supportive of them keeping their playhouse, before they filed their lawsuit... I think it was a complete waste.
“The filing of this lawsuit by the Levys and their attorneys was a complete waste of taxpayer resources and the appellate court saw right through it, and was very clear in their decision — and I think they should compensate the taxpayer,” Genser added.
Genser, who was mayor when the dispute surfaced, was targeted in the suit for contacting City Hall staffers about the legality of the playhouse. The suit con-tended Genser influenced staffers to deem the playhouse illegal, but Genser said he simply asked staffers to investigate after a neighbor named Tundai Garai complained about the playhouse.
Officials first found the playhouse to be legal, then changed their minds and made it illegal after Genser’s involvement. They ultimately reversed course and the Levys were never forced to tear down the backyard structure, which they reportedly had spent $11,000 to make it conform to the city’s code. However, they were told that it wouldn’t be recognized as a legal structure but would be allowed to remain standing as a “non-conforming use,” their lawsuit contended.
Despite losing, Kutcher said the suit wasn’t a complete wasted effort.
“We made, at least, some progress towards providing protections in the code enforcement,” he added. “There’s a whole zoning enforcement section in the code that did not exist before and it involves the kind of things that were partially implemented in the hedge matter, where you’re supposed to get a letter, then you get a notice that encourages a conference, (and) you have the right to an administrative hearing... I certainly think that there’s some partial successes there. We would like to have done more, but the courts didn’t let us. We’re glad that progress was made and the Levys feel good about that.”
Assistant City Attorney Joe Lawrence, who handled the case for City Hall, had a slightly different read on the four years of litigation. Nine other cities, including Burbank, Cathedral City, Fresno, Hermosa Beach, Newport Beach, Riverside, Sonoma, Torrance and West Hollywood signed onto the lawsuit, apparently out of fear that if the Levys were successful it would muzzle effective government by limiting how city leaders can communicate with staff.
“It’s a lawsuit that hopefully teaches a great number of lessons,” Lawrence said Monday. “It was an unnecessary dispute from the beginning and now it’s over — and that’s a very good thing. I’m just glad it’s over, it was an unnecessary adventure...
“It certainly has turned out to be a very, very expensive playhouse.”
“It certainly has turned out to be a very, very expensive playhouse.” — – JOE LAWRENCE Assistant City Attorney
Originally published in the Santa Monica Daily Press print edition on August 17, 2004. Read the original PDF.