The current major lawsuit against CHSRA, Tos II, had a Case Management Conference on Friday. An October 26 court hearing was set for a motion by Plaintiffs seeking a declaratory judgment that AB 1889 is facially unconstitutional. A judgment to that effect would trigger a request by Plaintiffs for an injunction blocking any use of Proposition 1A HSR Bond funds for construction. CHSRA will seek judgment on a cross-motion that AB 1889 is constitutional, so that CHSRA can rely on it in seeking bond funds to continue construction of its HSR project.
This case has been delayed by CHSRA for 17 months. Two demurrers were filed, seeking to get the case dismissed. Then a procedural error by CHSRA’s counsel, the Attorney General, caused a further delay, making it impossible to get the case heard before Judge Michael Kenny, who had heard a half-dozen earlier HSR cases. Judge Kenny was transferred out of the Writ Division at the beginning of the year, requiring a new judge become conversant with the highly technical issues surrounding HSR legalities.
For further information on the case, including filings, click here.