The Anaheim City Council is "expected to approve a development deal for the Angel Stadium property within three weeks," but there is a legal cloud hanging over the project after an Orange County Superior Court judge "denied the city's request to throw out a lawsuit alleging impropriety in the sale of the property," according to Bill Shaikin of the L.A. TIMES. Judge David Hoffer said that he "would meet with attorneys Sept. 29 to consider a trial date." The city projects the sale "will close sometime this year," but the purchase agreement allows Angels Owner Arte Moreno and his development company to "walk away from the deal so long as litigation is active." The City Council last December approved a $325M sale of the 150-acre ballpark. The lawsuit "seeks to invalidate the purchase agreement on the grounds the city failed to comply with state public transparency laws." Kelly Aviles, the attorney representing the plaintiffs, said that the group "has no objection to a deal debated in public," but the city "has declined to provide negotiating records that she said are subject to public disclosure." Hoffer in his ruling "did not address the merits of the case but said the city would have to defend its position" (L.A. TIMES, 9/15).
