Losing Bidder’s Suit Fails to Unseal Most Belmont Data
A development firm that lost the competition to build a new high school downtown lost most of its legal bid Thursday to unseal documents leading up to its rejection.
But Los Angeles Superior Court Judge Diane Wayne offered a bit of advice to the Los Angeles Unified School District, which is building the controversial Belmont Learning Center: Hand the papers over anyway, or “nobody will ever feel satisfied.â€
For the record:
12:00 a.m. July 19, 1997 For the Record
Los Angeles Times Saturday July 19, 1997 Home Edition Metro Part B Page 3 Metro Desk 1 inches; 33 words Type of Material: Correction
Downtown school--A story in Friday’s Times incorrectly identified Christopher Campbell as a representative of Goldrich, Kest & Associates in the bid to build a new downtown high school. Campbell was a co-developer with Goldrich.
At issue is the district’s wish to withhold paperwork regarding its review of a potential conflict of interest in the award of the Belmont contract. Wayne said the law is on the district’s side, but added that the district’s claim of attorney-client privilege bothered her.
Peter James, a lawyer representing the district, said the documents are unlikely to be voluntarily produced. Wayne ruled only that some communications with other developers and some legal billing records must be shared.
The conflict-of-interest allegations involved the legal firm representing the district in its negotiations to build a high school in the Temple Street and Beaudry Avenue area. That firm, O’Melveny & Myers, also counts among its clients the chosen developer, Kajima International.
Interweaving matters further, two attorneys from the law firm--David Cartwright and Lisa Gooden--served on a five-member committee that set criteria for weighing various aspects of the development proposals. The team then recommended Kajima over two other developers, even though its bid was by far the highest.
After years of controversy and months of delay, a contract was signed with Kajima this spring and groundbreaking is scheduled for the end of July.
The lawsuit to unseal the records was filed by Christopher J. Campbell, who represented one of the unsuccessful developers, Goldrich, Kest & Associates. Campbell wanted information about when and why Los Angeles Unified waived the conflict concerns, because he is considering filing a damage suit against the district.
After Wayne’s ruling, Campbell said he did not know whether he would proceed with that suit.
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