South Coast Air Quality Management District

Request Approval to Transfer $30,000 from Environmental Litigation Contract with Best, Best & Krieger to Environmental Litigation Contract with Shute, Mihaly & Weinberger

SYNOPSIS: 

The AQMD has contracts for environmental litigation services with the law firms of Best, Best, & Krieger and Shute, Mihaly & Weinberger. The combined amount budgeted for the contracts is $160,000 a year for three years. In the second year of the contract, this amount was divided by allocating $70,000 to Shute, Mihaly & Weinberger and $85,000 to Best, Best & Krieger. In February 2001, the Board approved a contract increase of $85,000 to Shute, Mihaly & Weinberger and $90,000 to Best, Best & Krieger. The primary matter currently handled by Shute, Mihaly & Weinberger is the Fleet Rules litigation. Recent costs on this litigation have been higher than expected. To cover these costs, staff is requesting approval to transfer $30,000 to the Shute, Mihaly & Weinberger contract from the Best, Best & Krieger contract, where costs have been lower than expected. This action will not involve an additional appropriation or expenditure of funds beyond those already budgeted.

COMMITTEE: 

Not Applicable

RECOMMENDED ACTION:

Authorize the Executive Officer to amend existing contracts for legal services with Shute, Mihaly & Weinberger and Best, Best & Krieger by transferring the amount of $30,000 from Best, Best & Krieger (Contract #00129) to Shute, Mihaly & Weinberger (Contract #00086).

Barry R. Wallerstein, D.Env.
Executive Officer

Background

On October 8, 1999, the Board approved the expenditure of $160,000 a year for three years for environmental litigation services, and approved the law firms of Best, Best, & Krieger and Shute, Mihaly, & Weinberger as contractors.

Since the Board approved the contracts, the AQMD has been engaged in substantial environmental litigation matters, including a lawsuit challenging the Fleet Rules, handled by Shute, Mihaly, & Weinberger, and a lawsuit challenging the District’s permitting of CENCO’s refinery in Santa Fe Springs, handled by Best, Best & Krieger.

Staff in District Counsel’s office has been actively working on both cases. Even so, in the second year of the contracts, litigation costs on these cases were running at a level that would cause them to exceed the amounts budgeted before the end of the fiscal year.

Staff therefore recommended that the contract funding be increased, which the Board approved in February 2001 when it authorized an increase of $70,000 for Shute, Mihaly & Weinberger and $85,000 for Best, Best & Krieger. These amounts were based on activity in the CENCO and Fleet Rules lawsuits.

Since the increase, however, the CENCO lawsuit, handled by Best, Best & Krieger, has had very little activity, and the fees have been minimal. On the other hand, fees in the Fleet Rules lawsuit, handled by Shute, Mihaly & Weinberger, have been greater than expected. It is estimated that an additional $30,000 must be added to the Shute, Mihaly & Weinberger contract to cover costs that will be incurred in the Fleet Rules case before additional budgeted funds will be available at the beginning of the new fiscal year on July 1, 2001. It is also expected that there will be little activity on the CENCO case, handled by Best, Best & Krieger, during that time. Staff is therefore recommending that the Board authorize the transfer of $30,000 from the Best, Best & Krieger contract to the Shute, Mihaly & Weinberger contract.

Proposal

Authorize the Executive Officer to amend existing contracts for legal services with Shute, Mihaly & Weinberger and Best, Best & Krieger by transferring the amount of $30,000 from Best, Best & Krieger (Contract #00129) to Shute, Mihaly & Weinberger (Contract #00086).

Resource Impacts

This action will not involve an additional appropriation or expenditure of funds beyond those already budgeted.

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