Hearing on dock fees delayed

A hearing scheduled for Thursday afternoon that could have decided the fate of a lawsuit alleging that the Newport Beach City Council broke a state transparency law while enacting a series of dock fee increases was postponed until June.

An Orange County Superior Court judge was absent, so an attorney for the Newport Beach Dock Owners Assn. opted to wait for his return, rather than have a research attorney make a decision.

The hearing, during which a judge will consider a response by the city regarding the lawsuit, is now set for the afternoon of June 20, an attorney handling the case for the city said.

—Jill Cowan

Twitter: @jillcowan