Appeals Court Upholds Playa Vista Ruling

The State Court of Appeal supported the July 1996 decision by a Los Angeles Superior Court judge to throw out a legal challenge to the giant Playa Vista development near Marina del Rey. The original lawsuit and subsequent appeal by the Earth Trust Foundation and several other environmental groups had claimed that the project by Los Angeles developer Maguire Partners had failed to undergo a sufficient state environmental review. Another lawsuit filed by environmentalists in federal court last December is pending. That suit, which claims government engineers failed to fully study the project’s impact on wetlands, is expected to be heard within 90 days, according Doug Gardner, a partner in the development firm. Officials from environmental groups could not be reached for comment.