BOARD MEETING DATE: June 5, 2009
AGENDA NO. 17

PROPOSAL:

Appropriate Funds from Designation for Litigation and Enforcement and Authorize Amending/Initiating Contracts with Outside Counsel

SYNOPSIS:

AQMD District Counsel is currently being assisted in several lawsuits by outside law firms, including multiple lawsuits challenging the District’s Credit Bank, the Architectural Coatings Rules, the ultra-low diesel project at the ConocoPhillips refinery, a lawsuit challenging the recently adopted consumer products rule – Rule 1143, and other matters requiring specialized legal counsel. This action is to appropriate $175,000 from the Designation for Litigation and Enforcement to the Legal Budget, Professional and Special Services account, and to authorize the Executive Officer to amend or initiate contracts to expend these funds with Woodruff Spradlin & Smart and Shute Mihaly & Weinberger or other counsel approved by the Board.

COMMITTEE:

Administrative, May 8, 2008, Recommended for Approval

RECOMMENDED ACTIONS:

1. Appropriate $175,000 from the Designation for Litigation and Enforcement to Legal’s FY 2008-09 Budget, Professional and Special Services account.

2. Authorize the Executive Officer to amend or initiate contracts with Woodruff Spradlin & Smart and Shute Mihaly & Weinberger or other counsel approved by the Board with monies to be appropriated as the need arises.
 

Barry R. Wallerstein, D.Env.
Executive Officer

Background

The FY 2008-09 Budget for Legal included $350,000 for litigation expenses in environmental law cases, which has been supplemented by additional appropriations. Two law firms, Woodruff Spradlin & Smart and Shute Mihaly & Weinberger, have been assisting District Counsel with environmental litigation matters. The monies for environmental litigation matters have been and will be expended on lawsuits involving the District’s internal bank of offset credits used by essential public services and exempt facilities; the Architectural Coatings Rules; the recently adopted rule for consumer paint thinners (Rule 1143); and the ultra-low diesel project at the ConocoPhillips refinery. Although District Counsel has put cost-containment measures in place, it is expected that expenses in these matters, and the other matters handled by Woodruff, Spradlin & Smart and Shute, Mihaly & Weinberger, will require an additional amount up to $175,000 before additional authorized funding is available in July 2009. Accordingly, District Counsel is requesting the appropriation of additional funds in the amount of $175,000, for a total expected expenditure of $1.275 million this fiscal year.
 

Proposal

In order to defend on-going and threatened litigation, it is necessary to appropriate additional funds for expenditure by outside counsel. It is expected that on-going lawsuits, and new litigation that is possible, will require an additional $175,000 to be appropriated to Woodruff Spradlin & Smart and Shute Mihaly & Weinberger, or other counsel approved by the Board as the need arises.
 

Resource Impacts

Sufficient funds are available in the Designation for Litigation and Enforcement.