Appeals court halts sale of California buildings

http://abclocal.go.com/kgo/story?section=news/state&id=7842196

Appeals court halts sale of California buildings

Monday, December 13, 2010

 Tags:

lawsuit, arnold schwarzenegger, california budget crisis, california news

  

SACRAMENTO, Calif. -- A California appeals court on Monday stalled the sale of 11 state office properties to private investors, likely delaying the transaction until Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger is out of office.

The state is reviewing the court's action and evaluating its options after the court issued the stay blocking the sale, said Department of General Services spokesman Eric Lamoureux.
"We hope that the court will move swiftly to consider this case and reach a decision," he said.

Related Content

Story: Judge OKs sale of Calif buildings in early ruling
Story: Lawsuit filed to stop planned sale of state buildings
Story: State building sales may cost tax payers more
Story: Calif. to sell off office buildings to generate cash

The move came in a lawsuit brought by two former state building authority members who say selling the properties is unconstitutional and a waste of taxpayer money.

The members, Jerry Epstein and A. Redmond Doms, were ousted by Schwarzenegger after they asked the state to perform a cost-benefit analysis and questioned the long-term consequences for taxpayers. Don Casper, a third member who was also ousted for questioning the sale, has also signed on as a plaintiff.
Monday's stay delays a transaction that had been scheduled to close this week. It's likely the sale will fall to Gov.-elect Jerry Brown, who takes over Jan. 3.

Schwarzenegger had promoted the sale of state properties as a way to generate cash to help fill the state's budget deficit. The state awarded the sale of the buildings -- including the Ronald Reagan building in Los Angeles and the San Francisco Civic Center -- to California First LLC, a consortium of investors led by a Texas real estate firm and a private equity firm based in Irvine, for $2.3 billion.
Read more ... http://abclocal.go.com/kgo/story?section=news/state&id=7842196http://abclocal.go.com/kgo/story?section=news/state&id=7842196