http://www.nctimes.com/articles/2006/11 ... 1_9_06.txt

Escondido's legal fees may soar with new attorney team
Thursday, November 9, 2006
By: DAVID FRIED - Staff Writer

ESCONDIDO ---- The legal team hasn't even stepped into a courtroom yet, and already the city's legal bills to defend a housing ordinance barring landlords from renting to illegal immigrants have shot up about 30 percent, or possibly more, for each hour that private attorneys work on the case.

City officials said Thursday that they had to hire a new, more expensive attorney to represent them in their defense against a recently filed lawsuit after their initial legal team dropped out earlier this week.

Escondido hired Christopher Garrett of the San Diego firm Latham & Watkins as the independent attorney to defend the city against the lawsuit working its way through the federal court.


The firm's fees for each billable hour its legal team works on the case will range from $350 to about $500, depending on the attorneys involved, according to City Attorney Jeffrey Epp.

Last week, the council agreed to contract with John Ramirez from the Costa Mesa firm of Rutan & Tucker at a rate of between $300 and $375 for each billable hour. Ramirez backed out, however, after determining that his firm had a conflict of interest, according to Epp.

Ramirez could not be reached for comment.

Depending on the final rate, fees for Latham & Watkins could total between 33 percent and 66 percent more than the city's previous independent counsel, assuming Ramirez had charged at the low end of the scale and Garrett charges at the high end.

"Until we have a firm proposal, we won't know the final rate, but we have to move ahead," Epp said.

A week ago, the American Civil Liberties Union and other rights groups filed a lawsuit that asks a federal judge to declare the housing ordinance unconstitutional. And Wednesday, the ACLU filed a separate request asking the judge to temporarily block enforcement of the ordinance until the case is decided.

A hearing on the temporary restraining order is scheduled for Thursday in San Diego. The housing measure is scheduled to take effect two days later, on Nov. 18.

Under the ordinance, landlords found to be "harboring" illegal immigrants would have 10 business days to remove the tenants, or face penalties ranging from suspension of their business licenses to fines of up to $1,000 a day and six months in jail.

Also working on the defense team is Don Lincoln, a private attorney who has regularly worked with the city. He represented Escondido in a 1990s' case involving mobile-home rent control that was heard by the Supreme Court. Lincoln's fee is about $300 an hour, Epp said.

As for how much the council is willing to spend to defend the ordinance, Councilman Sam Abed said this week that, for the time being, price is not an issue.

"We are very committed to defending this ordinance, so long as the costs do not exceed the costs of illegal immigration on our city," said Abed, who was among the council majority that approved the measure.

Abed added that he estimates Escondido spends perhaps as much as $10 million annually on providing services such as police and fire protection for illegal immigrants.

Abed also said he was confident the city would emerge victorious.

"I think our issues are clear to the court, and don't think it's going to be a long process," Abed said.

Other council members are not so sure.

Mayor Lori Holt Pfeiler, who voted against the ordinance, said protracted legal battles are not the best use of taxpayers' dollars.

"I think the funds could be spent at the local level more appropriately, whether to maintain soccer fields or for cleaning up graffiti or other issues that make our community look better," Pfeiler said.

At least one city facing its own legal battle over an anti-illegal immigration ordinance has asked the public to help defray court costs.

The city of Hazleton, Pa., which passed a similar law to Escondido's this summer and is also facing court challenges, set up a defense fund that has accepted donations from individuals and organizations around the country. As of last week, the defense fund had received just over $32,000 in contributions, according to news sources.