This week the Orange County Superior Court issued a final ruling in favor of the City of Huntington Beach in a high profile lawsuit – the City of Huntington Beach v. State of California, Department of Finance.
The city attorney’s Office sought reimbursement of a previous redevelopment loan, known as the “Waterfront Loan” in the amount of $22.4 million, plus interest, equating to approximately $25 million. This award for $25 million will be returned by the State to the Huntington Beach taxpayers and is in addition to the $5.2 million that the city won last year in the same case.
“This is a great win for Huntington Beach and I am very proud of the leadership and legal acumen that Mr. Michael Gates and his team has demonstrated,” said Mayor Tony Strickland. “I appreciate Mr. Gates’s willingness to fight the fights that other cities don’t. He is a real asset to Huntington Beach and the taxpayers should be proud.”
In the decision, the Court wrote, “the Agreement contains an obligation to pay, and DOF should have treated it as an enforceable obligation when the Successor Agency submitted its Recognized Obligation Payment Schedule (ROPS) 17-18… the Petition after remand is granted, and a writ of mandate shall issue directing DOF to treat the Waterfront Loan on the Successor Agency’s ROPS 17-18 as an enforceable obligation.”