The Firm represented a lease-leaseback contractor performing work for the Mt. Diablo Unified School District. A third party filed a lawsuit against the contractor and the District challenging the lease-leaseback on multiple legal theories. Following prior litigation and an earlier appeal in this case, the plaintiff was left with the sole claim the contract was illegal because of California Government Code section 1090’s prohibition against conflicts of interest.
Specifically, the third party alleged the contractor had an illegal conflict of interest because the contractor had performed preconstruction services prior to lease-leaseback construction services. The firm brought a motion for summary judgment seeking to enter judgment in favor of the contractor. The trial court rejected plaintiff’s claim and granted the contractor’s motion entering judgment in its favor.
The First District Court of Appeal agreed with the contractor and upheld the motion for summary judgment in a published appellate opinion. This is an important published decision as the Court rejected the plaintiff’s claim that it was a conflict of interest to enter into a lease-leaseback agreement for the project after the contractor had provided preconstruction services on the same project.
A copy of the published decision can be viewed here.
2019 WL 6336264
Counsel: Jason R. Thornton and Daniel P. Scholz