Link: MTA legal dealings called 'shocking' - LA Daily News
MTA legal dealings called 'shocking'
LAWSUITS: Ridley-Thomas cites `extraordinary' $30M in fees over Red Line case.
By Troy Anderson, Staff Writer
Updated: 02/02/2010 06:53:42 PM PST
Flabbergasted by the Metropolitan Transportation Authority's soaring litigation costs, Los Angeles County Supervisor Mark Ridley-Thomas on Tuesday called for an audit to determine the extent of the agency's legal expenses.
Ridley-Thomas said Metro has spent more than $30 million in legal fees fighting a lawsuit filed by the Tutor-Saliba Corp. in 1995 regarding the Red Line subway that runs from Union Station to North Hollywood.
Ridley-Thomas is also concerned about another $10 million in legal fees spent on another construction-related lawsuit "which may have been spent without approval of the MTA Board of Directors."
"The question is how many cases are there, what are the controls, what is the management strategy and regrettably, there just doesn't seem to be any and this is just shocking," Ridley-Thomas said. "There has to be accountability for litigation and there seems to be significant gaps here that are just not acceptable."
Metro spokesman Rick Jager said the agency had no comment on the matter, citing pending litigation.
Ron Tutor, chairman of the Sylmar-based Tutor Perini Corp., parent of Tutor-Saliba and one of the largest construction companies in the United States, predicted an audit would find that Metro spent even more than $30 million on the case.
"I think it's about time somebody audited the County Counsel's Office and certain board members to see just how these things can take place," Tutor said.
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"I welcome it. It's about time all this stuff came to the surface.
"This is a lawsuit that should have been settled 15 years ago that has turned into a legal quagmire for both parties, completely dictated by the attitude of the MTA, County Counsel's Office and certain board members. It will all come out in the audit."
On Monday, the Metro board voted in closed session to continue litigating the Tutor-Saliba case, authorizing an additional $2.5 million in spending, Ridley-Thomas said.
"This case started in 1995 and since that time the legal expenses have been in excess of $30 million, which is just extraordinary," Ridley-Thomas said.
"The problem with that is that a third of those expenses were apparently incurred without the board's knowledge or consent, and so the question is how did that happen - who gave those instructions and when?"
The call for the audit comes as Metro is facing a $250 million operating deficit, the largest in the agency's history, because of cuts in state funding as well as a decline in ridership.
In the motion introduced Tuesday, Ridley-Thomas called on the Board of Supervisors to vote next Tuesday whether to urge the Metro board to ask the Auditor-Controller's Office to conduct an audit to determine whether appropriate controls, reviews and approvals took place in recent cases.
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