Shook Secures Writ Victory Against City of Monterey Park in California Nuisance Abatement Case

Shook, Hardy & Bacon won a petition for writ of mandate in Los Angeles County Superior Court, where Judge Joseph Lipner ruled in favor of property owners Edward and Howard Chan against the City of Monterey Park. The ruling follows an earlier decision in the case granting a preliminary injunction and stay that halted the demolition of the Chans’ commercial building at 795 West Garvey Avenue while the matter moved forward.

Judge Lipner found that the city violated the Chans’ due process rights during the underlying administrative proceedings when two partners from the same law firm improperly served as both the city’s advocate and its neutral legal advisor in the same matter. The court also found that the City Attorney impermissibly acted as a neutral legal advisor at the administrative hearing after previously serving as an advocate in a related court proceeding.

The court also found that the Monterey Park City Council showed an unacceptable probability of actual bias. Before serving as the trier of fact on whether the property was a public nuisance, the council had already passed two resolutions declaring that it was one. The court concluded that those resolutions, together with other actions by the council, should have disqualified the council from serving as the hearing officer.

The court will issue a writ directing the city to set aside the nuisance abatement order and conduct further proceedings in light of the court’s opinion and judgment. If the city elects to retry the case, it must use a neutral hearing officer rather than the city council and ensure that any legal advisor to the hearing officer is independent and not conflicted.

The trial briefing was drafted by Shook associates Brandon Gilligan and Hannah Hamblin, and the case was argued primarily by Gilligan with assistance from co-counsel Patrick “Kit” Bobko of Bobko Law, APC in Newport Beach, California.

The lawyers in Shook’s Environmental and Toxic Tort Practice have successfully handled environmental and toxic tort cases in state and federal courts and administrative tribunals across the nation. They take a proactive approach to regulatory, compliance and litigation risks to protect clients’ business interests and avoid expensive litigation. This includes monitoring industry trends, legislative and regulatory developments, key judicial cases, plaintiffs’ bar activities and the latest scientific literature.