COSTA MESA, Calif., December 21, 2012 – Low-income senior citizens will have additional places to live in the City of Duarte as the result of a victory scored recently by attorneys at Rutan & Tucker, LLP that keeps construction of a senior housing project on track. Rutan & Tucker is one of California’s largest full service public agency and business law firms.
Representing Duarte, Rutan & Tucker partners Jeffrey T. Melching and Dan Slater and associate Jennifer Farrell obtained a quick change of position by the California Attorney General’s office in response to the city’s temporary restraining order application seeking an immediate reversal of a Department of Finance ruling that would have required the city turn over $1.2 million in former redevelopment agency (RDA) funds.
The money was designated for Andres Duarte Terrace II, a 43-unit building to be constructed by the non-profit housing developer be.group. The victory also had the effect of keeping another $7.7 million in HUD funding from being lost, which would have resulted in the cessation of the project.
“We believe the outcome is particularly noteworthy because prevailing against the State on an RDA dissolution matter at the temporary restraining order phase of litigation has proven hard to come by on a statewide basis,” said Slater. “Needless to say the city and the developer of the project are thrilled. Ultimately the real winners are the low income senior citizens who will now have greater availability to high quality affordable apartments in Duarte.”
The attorneys are members of Rutan & Tucker’s Government & Regulatory Law Section. Melching devotes a substantial portion of his practice to land use planning and entitlement activities and has tried many cases in the California Superior Courts as well as before the California Court of Appeal, United States District Court, and Ninth Circuit Court of Appeals. Slater is City Attorney for Duarte and also represents numerous other cities as special counsel on RDA dissolution matters, as well as representing private parties with issues before public agencies. Farrell specializes in a wide range of litigation and transactional matters relating to both municipal governments and school districts.
“We congratulate the Rutan & Tucker team and are pleased that they achieved a major victory for our client in this important case that affects an at-risk population,” said Kim Thompson, Rutan & Tucker’s managing partner.
About Rutan & Tucker LLP
Rutan & Tucker is California’s largest full-service law firm headquartered in Orange County, California with offices in Costa Mesa and Palo Alto. Primary practice areas include business and real estate litigation, corporate and securities law, labor and employment law, intellectual property, real estate, municipal and government agency law, land use law, bankruptcy, condemnation and property valuation, environmental law, and taxation and estate planning. Detailed information about the firm is available at www.rutan.com.
