TRIAL LIMPS ON IN AIRPORT LAND BID ANY VERDICT MAY BE STAYED, JUDGE SAYS.Byline: Lee Condon Daily News Staff Writer Burbank Airport's attempt to take 130 acres of Lockheed Martin For the former company, see . Lockheed Martin (NYSE: LMT) is a leading multinational aerospace manufacturer and advanced technology company formed in 1995 by the merger of Lockheed Corporation with Martin Marietta. land by eminent domain eminent domain, the right of a government to force the owner of private property sell it if it is needed for a public use. The right is based on the doctrine that a sovereign state has dominion over all lands and buildings within its borders, which has its origins in will continue in a Burbank courthouse, but the judge acknowledged Tuesday that the jury's ultimate verdict could be scrapped. On Tuesday, the city of Burbank tried to intervene in the trial and hobble hobble leather straps fastened around the pasterns of horses, mules and donkeys. Placed on all four legs and pulled together by a rope, it provides an effective means of casting the horse. Burbank Airport's attempt to take the land for its proposed expansion. But Burbank Superior Court Judge Carl J. West said he will deal with the city's complaints after the jury has reached a verdict in the dispute on the value of the land. Lawyers for Burbank and the state argued that a state Court of Appeal decision last week makes it impossible for the 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. Superior Court to issue a judgment allowing the airport to take the land by eminent domain without the city's approval. While West agreed that the Court of Appeal decision could affect the trial, he told lawyers for the city, the airport and Lockheed Martin that he is not ready to make any decisions yet. ``No judgment will be executed that exceeds the jurisdiction of this court,'' West said. If the jurors in his courtroom reach a verdict, West said he then would have the option of simply not issuing a final judgment from the bench and thus delaying any action on the verdict. Jurors have been listening to testimony for six weeks in the dispute about how much Burbank Airport should pay to Lockheed Martin for the land. Lockheed Martin wants $130 million, but airport officials say it's worth only $25 million because of soil contamination Soil contamination is the presence of man-made chemicals or other alteration in the natural soil environment. This type of contamination typically arises from the rupture of underground storage tanks, application of pesticides, percolation of contaminated surface water to . The trial is expected to last three more weeks. The appellate decision suddenly put the proceedings in jeopardy. Until it is certain that the Court of Appeal decision will stand, West said, he does not want to waste all the time already spent on the condemnation trial. Airport officials have not yet decided whether to appeal to the California Supreme Court. Under state law, they have 30 days to decide. If the Court of Appeal decision stands, it will be a major victory for Burbank in its protracted pro·tract tr.v. pro·tract·ed, pro·tract·ing, pro·tracts 1. To draw out or lengthen in time; prolong: disputants who needlessly protracted the negotiations. 2. war with Burbank Airport over the issue of expansion. For years, Burbank officials have said they want noise restrictions and a curfew curfew [O.Fr.,=cover fire], originally a signal, such as the ringing of a bell, to damp the fire, extinguish all lights in the dwelling, and retire for the night. The custom originated as a precaution against fires and was common throughout Europe in the Middle Ages. on night flights before any airport expansion. Victor Gill, a spokesman for the Burbank-Glendale-Pasadena Airport Authority, said there will be no ironclad ironclad, mid-19th-century wooden warship protected from gunfire by iron armor. The success of the ironclad when first employed by the French in the Crimean War sparked a naval armor and armaments race between France and Great Britain. commitment for Judge West to stay any verdict the jury may reach. But Burbank City Attorney Dennis Barlow said city officials believe the Court of Appeal decision will survive any challenge, and they got exactly what they wanted from Judge West. ``(The judge) said he wouldn't enter a judgment in excess of his jurisdiction,'' Barlow said. |
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