By FRED SHUSTER | City News Service
A federal judge overseeing a lawsuit dealing with homelessness in Los Angeles denied a request by the county to pause trial proceedings and Los Angeles County responded by filing a motion to dismiss the case.
The judge’s denial filed late Tuesday was prompted by the county’s bid for a stay while it pursues an appellate review of U.S. District Judge David Carter’s order last month in which he rejected the parties’ proposed agreement, lifted a previous stay and reinstated trial proceedings.
In its March 2020 lawsuit, the L.A. Alliance for Human Rights, a coalition that includes downtown business owners and housed and unhoused residents, alleges that inaction by the city and county of Los Angeles has created a dangerous environment in the Skid Row area and beyond.
At the April hearing in Los Angeles federal court, Carter — for the second time in five months — rejected the county’s settlement offer, denying the county and the L.A. Alliance’s joint stipulation to dismiss the case, saying he needed more “oversight and enforcement powers.”
Carter approved the city of Los Angeles’ settlement with the L.A. Alliance last June.
The county on Wednesday filed a motion to dismiss all claims asserted by the plaintiffs and requested judicial notice of records showing how the county is addressing the homelessness crisis.
Carter’s recent refusal to accept a settlement deal between the plaintiffs and the county “forces us into the unprecedented position of continuing to litigate a three-year-old case that has already been settled between the parties — twice,” Mira Hashmall, an outside attorney for the county in the lawsuit, said in a statement.
“The county and plaintiffs have petitioned the court to dismiss the case, but it has refused and insists on keeping everyone tied up in unnecessary and costly proceedings.”
Hashmall said county leaders share the court’s “sense of urgency in addressing…
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