HOUSE OF BLUES TO SUE CITY GREEK THEATRE BID IN LEGAL SPOTLIGHT.Byline: Beth Barrett Staff Writer House of Blues House of Blues (HOB) is a chain of music halls and restaurants founded in 1992 by Hard Rock Cafe founder Isaac Tigrett and his friend and investor Dan Aykroyd. It is a home for live music and southern-inspired cuisine, whose clubs celebrate African-American culture, specifically Concerts plans to file a $10 million lawsuit against Los Angeles Los Angeles (lôs ăn`jələs, lŏs, ăn`jəlēz'), city (1990 pop. 3,485,398), seat of Los Angeles co., S Calif.; inc. 1850. today, saying the city ``engaged in a sham False; without substance. A sham Pleading is one that is good in form but is so clearly false in fact that it does not raise any genuine issue. competitive bidding Competitive bidding A securities offering process in which securities firms submit competing bids to the issuer for the securities the issuer wishes to sell. competitive bidding 1. process'' and political favoritism over the Greek Theatre's operating concession. The lawsuit, to be filed in Superior Court, seeks to set aside last month's Recreation and Parks Commission vote to reject bids from both House of Blues and longtime long·time adj. Having existed or persisted for a long time: a longtime friend; a longtime resident of Detroit. longtime Adjective operator Nederlander-Greek, and award the contract to House of Blues, which made the more lucrative offer. It also claims the commission's action is the culmination of a three-year pattern of political favoritism toward Nederlander, designed to keep the firm operating the popular Griffith Park Griffith Park is a large public park at the eastern end of the Santa Monica Mountains. It is situated in the Los Feliz neighborhood of Los Angeles, California. The park covers 4,210 acres (17 km²) of land, making it one of the largest urban parks in North America. venue at the expense of taxpayers. ``The essence is that the city had an obligation based on its own procedures to award the bid to House of Blues and it failed to do so,'' Adam Friedman, House of Blues senior vice president, said Wednesday. Nederlander-Greek attorney Adam Burke said he had not seen the lawsuit, but that he would view any action as ``desperate people doing desperate things.'' Burke said the commission's decision to reject both proposals was legal and done in compliance with the City Charter. ``It's sad that taxpayers' dollars will be used to defend a lawsuit in which everything the commission did, according to according to prep. 1. As stated or indicated by; on the authority of: according to historians. 2. In keeping with: according to instructions. 3. the city attorney, was in compliance with the charter.'' Nederlander-Greek attorneys defend Nederlander's bid, saying it is comparable financially and has better financial backing. City Attorney's Office spokesman Mike Qualls said he could not comment on a lawsuit until it is filed. The lawsuit asserts, in part, that the city repeatedly has been willing to break the law to assure Nederlander's continued operation of the theater. Most recently, House of Blues alleges, the Parks Commission deliberately ignored its offer to pay more than $10 million above Nederlander's in revenue and capital improvements over the 10-year life of the contract. Previously, the lawsuit claims, the city broke the law in its efforts to extend the 25-year contract in 1999 without competitive bidding - despite Nederlander allegedly grossing more than $150 million while the city made little or nothing from the deal. The City Council was forced to rescind To declare a contract void—of no legal force or binding effect—from its inception and thereby restore the parties to the positions they would have occupied had no contract ever been made. rescind v. that no-bid, five-year extension award to Nederlander in the face of a petition drive in January 2000 that would have placed the issue before voters. The lawsuit claims those efforts to extend the contract were in violation of the City Charter, and other local and state laws. When the commission rejected both bids last month on a 3-1 vote, House of Blues' lawsuit says, it did so completely without cause. The board created an artificial excuse to start the bidding process over, the lawsuit claims. A new bid proposal is anticipated as early as next month. Nederlander's contract expires in October, putting in jeopardy jeopardy, in law, condition of a person charged with a crime and thus in danger of punishment. At common law a defendant could be exposed to jeopardy for the same offense only once; exposing a person twice is known as double jeopardy. the future operation of the theater. Friedman, with House of Blues, said the residents of Los Angeles have been damaged most by the delays in awarding the bid. |
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