Judge declines to reject lawsuit by tenant of Sterling.

FOR Donald Sterling, getting a discrimination lawsuit against him dismissed hasn't been the slam-dunk he might have hoped for.

Earlier this month, a federal judge denied Sterling's request for a summary judgment that would have thrown out claims brought by a former tenant who alleged Sterling discriminated against him by returning his rent checks and then taking him to court for $6,570 in back rent and fees.

Jeffrey High, who is black, is one of 16 individuals who, with the Housing Rights Center, sued Sterling last year for discriminating against blacks and Hispanics in two Koreatown apartment buildings.

"This ruling sends a clear message there's enough evidence in this case to proceed to trial and should move forward with that eye on the ball," said Joanne Lichtman, a partner at Howrey Simon Arnold & White LLP representing the Housing Rights Center.

Sterling is alleged in court papers to have told the staff of one building in a May 2002 meeting that he "liked Korean tenants the best" because "Hispanics just sit around all day watching television smoking cigarettes and doing nothing else."

On June 2, Judge Dale Fischer of the U.S. District Court, Central District of California, ruled that High "raised a triable issue as to whether he was treated differently than other tenants based on his race."

Sterling may file similar summary judgment motions against the remaining 16 plaintiffs. Dennis Tulsiak, an attorney at the Donald T. Sterling Corp., did not return phone calls.

Prepping Prop. 65

Attorney General Bill Lockyer has sued three environmental organizations, including two in the L.A. area, for misusing settlement dollars derived from litigation under Proposition 65, which protects consumers from exposure to certain harmful chemicals.

In a suit filed June 10, Lockyer alleged that the for-profit organization Consumer Cause Inc. misappropriated part of more than $600,000 in payments and attorneys' fees from 54 settlements during the past three and a half years.

Lockyer claimed that the money, which was supposed to be used for the "future enforcement of Proposition 65," was instead disbursed to the group's principal attorney, Morse Mehrban, whose mother, Rafat Efraim, is the sole shareholder of Consumer Cause.

Mehrban's father, Eli Mehrban, is treasurer and director of the organization. Mehrban's wife, Julie Rosolowski, is Consumer Cause's only paid employee. All four were named as defendants.

Calls to Morse Mehrban were not returned.

Lockyer is seeking $2,500 per violation of California's unfair business practices law and the return of the improperly spent funds.

In a separate but similar suit, Lockyer reached a consent judgment with Consumer Advocacy Group Inc., a non-profit based in Inglewood, which he said misappropriated part of $1.9 million in attorneys' fees and funds awarded in 89 settlements since 2000.

Staff reporter Amanda Bronstad can be reached at [phone] ext. 225, or at [e-mail].