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City Council approves $700,000 from outside‑counsel budget for longrunning employment litigation
Summary
The Los Angeles City Council approved a $700,000 allocation from the city's outside‑counsel budget to fund ongoing work in litigation stemming from Tipton/Whittingham employment claims. City attorneys said the money would cover unpaid invoices and expected costs through next spring; some council members urged pursuing settlements to reduce legal费.
The Los Angeles City Council voted to authorize $700,000 from the city's outside‑counsel fund to continue representation in litigation tied to the Tipton/Whittingham employment cases.
City Attorney representatives told the council the appropriation is intended to pay unpaid invoices and to fund outside counsel through roughly next spring. "That law firm was first hired, I believe, as a result of a report that was approved by this council on 10/08/1997," a City Attorney's Office representative said, and reported that the Bergman firm's billed and paid totals to date include $903,358.39 already paid and $251,721.93 in unpaid billings.
Councilmember Wax asked for details about the spending and whether the City Attorney's Office could manage the litigation in house. A City Attorney's Office speaker responded that the appropriation would come from a $3 million budget previously set aside for outside counsel and that the work on this matter had been ongoing since the late 1990s. The office said the litigation began as a complex employment case and that outside counsel had been instrumental in work on affirmative action and related issues.
Several council members said they wanted a closed‑session briefing on settlement prospects before additional funds were committed. "I would urge that we maybe try to take some of this, 700,000 we're appropriating and get proactive about looking down the road and seeing if we can settle more than just them as they come up," Councilwoman Goldberg said. City Attorney staff agreed to file a closed‑session report.
The council approved the item in public session by a recorded tally of nine ayes and one no. The City Attorney's Office said that a recent judicial order awarded $1,700,000 in attorney fees to plaintiffs in related litigation; speakers described that award as a factor in the city's defense costs and settlement posture.
Budget and legal staff told the council the requested $700,000 appropriation would be charged against the city's existing outside‑counsel allocation for the fiscal year rather than as a new revenue request.
With the vote, the council authorized the City Attorney's Office to apply the funds toward the outstanding billings and anticipated outside‑counsel costs for the Tipton/Whittingham‑related matters.
