ARTS GROUP SUES PROBST OVER PLEDGE\Suit seeks past-due amount, timely payment of $1.75 million balance.

Byline: Michael Coit Daily News Staff Writer

The Civic Arts Plaza's nonprofit fund-raising arm sued its biggest contributor Tuesday, claiming Charles E. Probst has failed to honor a $2 million pledge agreement.

Probst - namesake of the Charles E. Probst Center for the Performing Arts - made an initial $250,000 payment to The Alliance for the Arts after signing the pledge agreement in September 1994, but failed to pay $350,000 as scheduled in 1995. The lawsuit seeks last year's payment and a court ruling validating the agreement and binding Probst to make timely future payments.

The $2 million is the greatest single pledge the arts alliance has received in an effort to raise $15 million. The arts alliance relies on payment of pledges to support an endowment for annual operating costs and underwrite performances and community outreach programs, said Executive Director Cheryl Collart.

"We count on it. That's what's so important about a pledge, that people make a pledge to support the operation," Collart said.

"An organization builds its credibility on donors who give their pledges," she added. "Obviously, it's important to know that pledges are coming through."

Attorneys for Probst, who owns a Woodland Hills-based computer software service firm, did not return phone calls to comment on the dispute or the lawsuit.

The lawsuit, filed in Ventura Superior Court, claims that Probst and his wife, Florence M. Probst, have not followed through on their pledge agreement since making the initial $250,000 payment in 1994.

The pledge agreement requires Probst to pay the remaining $1.75 million by August 1999. The agreement requires two payments of $175,000 no later than April 15 and Aug. 15 of each year from 1995 through 1999.

Probst, in turn, receives the honor of having the 1,800-seat performing arts center named after him. The center's name also is included in the official logo and must appear on all newsletters, brochures, programs, tickets and advertisements, according to the agreement.

The agreement also gives Probst and his wife first rights to ticket purchases. In addition, Charles Probst was named to the center's board of governors, and Florence Probst was named to the arts alliance board of trustees.

According to Collart, the arts alliance has raised $10 million in pledges for the endowment fund with a goal of $15 million. So far, more than $2.3 million in cash has been received, she said.

The arts alliance needs $3 million in endowment money to generate annual interest payments of about $250,000 that go to the city to help pay for the center's operation, Collart said. Any remaining interest income will be used to underwrite programs and community outreach efforts, she said.

According to City Attorney Mark Sellers, the alliance already has enough money, even without Probst's pledge, to meet its commitment to the city.

He said there has been no discussion about removing Probst's name from its prominent place in front of the Performing Arts Center.

"The feeling is his name is up there, he's received the benefit, so he should pay," Sellers said.

Dan Grunfeld, the Los Angeles attorney representing the arts alliance, said there should be no doubt about the agreement's validity.

"It's a written contract on their lawyers' stationery," he noted.

Grunfeld said the lawsuit was filed only after attempts to negotiate a settlement failed. He said nonprofit arts groups don't want to rely on lawsuits to gain pledges made by donors.

"This is somewhat of a unique situation because of the prominence that Mr. Probst has, especially since his name is associated with a $65 million state-of-the-art facility," Grunfeld said.

Probst first came to the public's attention in August 1994 when he sought Planning Commission permission for an extensive landscaping project on his 16-acre hilltop property.

The commission voted 3-1 that month to deny Probst's application to perform extensive landscaping on 11 of his 16 acres overlooking Westlake Boulevard and Kanan Road.

Probst subsequently appealed the commission's decision to the City Council. A week before the council considered the appeal and overturned the commission's decision, Probst made his $2 million pledge to the Center for the Performing Arts' endowment fund.

Probst also contributed a total of $36,000 to four City Council candidates in the November 1994 election. Council candidates who received money from Probst included newcomers Andrew Fox, who went on to win a seat, and Michael Markey, who finished fourth in the race for three seats in 1994 but won a seat in the June special election.

Prior to the November election, on Oct. 11, 1994, the City Council voted 3-2, with Councilwomen Elois Zeanah and Jaime Zukowski dissenting, to approve Probst's project.

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Photo The Civic Arts Center's fund-raising group has filed suit against Charles E. Probst for violating a donation payment schedule. Andy Holzman/Special to the Daily News