ACTIVISTS FILE LAWSUIT AGAINST ROAD DEVELOPERS; BORCHARD PLAN CALLED UNSAFE.Byline: Lisa Mascaro Daily News Staff Writer A community activist and environmental group have filed a $661 million lawsuit against the developers of Dos Vientos, claiming they presented the City Council with false information about the safety of the main road being built to the master-planned community. Plaintiffs' attorney Edward L. Masry Edward L. Masry (born July 29,1932 in Paterson, New Jersey, died December 6,2005 in Thousand Oaks, California) was a partner in the law firm of Masry and Vititoe and a city councilman. said the lawsuit was a way to fight back against the ``bully'' developers who he said have inhibited the city's ability to build a safe road, while defendants said the case is frivolous Of minimal importance; legally worthless. A frivolous suit is one without any legal merit. In some cases, such an action might be brought in bad faith for the purpose of harrassing the defendant. . ``We're saying because you went to the City Council and lied, you have to be punished pun·ish v. pun·ished, pun·ish·ing, pun·ish·es v.tr. 1. To subject to a penalty for an offense, sin, or fault. 2. To inflict a penalty for (an offense). 3. ,'' said Masry, a Westlake Village attorney. ``These guys are really bully boys. Right now they've got the city in a box with this.'' The suit was filed Tuesday in Van Nuys Superior Court by former City Council candidate Laura Lee Custodio and the environmental group Save Open Space. The suit names both Miller Brothers Investment and Operating Engineers Operating Engineers are tradepeople who operate machinery. There are two main types of workers that share this title and trade union affiliation (IUOE). The first group are workers who operate steam plants and boilers. , the two developers of the master-planned Dos Vientos community. The suit centers around the contested extension of Borchard Road, which has drawn protests from residents who say the road is too steep and will become a dangerous thoroughfare THOROUGHFARE. A street or way so open that one can go through and get out of it without returning. It differs from a cul de sac, (q.v.) which is open only at one end. 2. Whether a street which is not a thoroughfare is a highway, seems not fully settled. . The suit claims the developers failed to disclose that the 12 percent grade of the road would be unsafe, would pose a liability and would prove difficult for emergency vehicles to access. The amount of the lawsuit was based on what Masry said was the developers' calculation of profits on the 2,350-home development. Attorneys for the developers questioned the suit's ability to stand up in court. ``It's a political stunt,'' said Mark Allen Mark Allen is the name of:
Attorney Steve Weston Steve Weston (1940 - May 12, 1985) was a Canadian television and theatre actor. He is best known to Canadian audiences from his stint as the husband in the sitcom The Trouble With Tracy, and as a series regular on the sketch comedy series Bizarre. , who represents Calabasas-based Miller Brothers, questioned why the suit targets the developers since most of the analysis over road safety was completed by professional firms. Borchard Road is at the center of another lawsuit - this one filed by the developers against the city. It claims that a stop-work order imposed on the developers in response to citizen complaints about Borchard Road caused them to lose more than $100 million. A judge ordered the city to lift the stop-work order and the grading of Borchard Road has since been completed. However, the project is now stalled stall 1 n. 1. A compartment for one domestic animal in a barn or shed. 2. a. A booth, cubicle, or stand used by a vendor, as at a market. b. because the city is requiring safety features to be included in the road design, and developers say they have offered a road design that is safe enough. |
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