City of Tustin/TUSD Lawsuit — Busy Court Postpones Trial Until January

A trial over a lawsuit between the City of Tustin and Tustin Unified that was supposed to go to trial today has been postponned by the courts until January 2013 due to a busy  court docket according to a source close to the lawsuit.  Orange County Superior Court Judge John Gastelumm, who has unsuccessfully encouraged both sides to mediate the issue, deplayed the proceedings in court this morning.

The suit is one of two pitting the city against the school district with the taxpayers ending up losers here for paying legal fees for both entities.

The OC Register’s Elysse James outlined the case in Sunday’s paper; read the story here.

Now that the lawsuit trial has been kicked to the New Year, the lawsuits become a political issue for the Fall election season for both city council candidates as well as school board races.  With council member Jerry Amante termed out, perhaps cooler heads will prevail and mediation can be achieved.