Schools

Judge Dismisses Stadium Lights Lawsuit

The Peninsula Stadium Lights Steering Committee filed a lawsuit against PVPUSD, alleging breach of contract and fraud in the district's decision to nix the possibility of stadium lights at Peninsula High School.

A lawsuit filed against the Palos Verdes Peninsula Unified School District over fundraising for lights on the Palos Verdes Peninsula High School football field was dismissed Thursday, according to a statement from the school district.

The lawsuit filed by the Peninsula Stadium Lights Steering Committee in January 2012 alleged breach of contract and fraud, among other causes of action.

The Lights Committee had raised about $250,000 toward the goal of installing lights on the high school's football field based upon a resolution passed by the Palos Verdes Peninsula Board of Education giving the group the go-ahead. The board later killed the project after determining the issue had divided the community too much.

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Part of the lawsuit was dismissed in April 2012 when a judge ruled that the court could not force the school district to proceed with either environmental impact studies for the project or the project itself, according to the Daily Breeze.

Thursday's ruling dismisses all five causes of action—including that of fraud and breach of contract—against the school district. Judge Burt Pines ruled that there was no contract in place to breach.

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"PVPUSD is disappointed that the Lights Committee believed filing a lawsuit was in the best interest of the children in our community," the district said in a statement sent to local media. "Judge Pines' dismissal of the case vindicates the district's position that the allegations made by the Lights Committee were unfounded."

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Martha Doty, the attorney representing the Lights Committee, disagreed.

"We believe that there was evidence supporting the claims that we raised, which were for damages incurred" during the fundraising portion of the project, Doty told Patch. "We are disappointed that the court's finding was that the district was not responsible for those expenses."

According to Doty, "The committee thought that it had no other choice but to file a lawsuit" after previous attempts to informally resolve the issue failed.

In the statement from the district, Superintendent Walker Williams said the district wants to move on from the controversy.

"We want to put the divisiveness associated with the football stadium lights issue behind us and collectively work on programs and services that benefit all PVPUSD students," said Williams.

Doty said that the Lights Committee has not yet decided on its next step. "We're hopefully a community-based solution can be reached," she said.

Neither high school in Palos Verdes has lights for its football field.

This is a developing story. Stay tuned for further updates.

Previously:

  • Friday Night Lights
  • School District Rejects Claims From Stadium Lights Group
  • Letter to the Editor: Stadium Lights Questions Answered
  • Letter to the Editor: Steering Committee to Continue Fight for Lights
  • Letter to the Editor: Board Shouldn't Give Up on Stadium Lights
  • Letter to the Editor: Board Should 'Bridge Gap' Between Stadium Lights Groups
  • Poll: Should Debate on Stadium Lights End?
  • PVPUSD Responds to Lawsuit from Stadium Lights Committee


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