The city of Fresno’s lawsuit over Fresno County’s general plan could get tossed because of a missed deadline.

In March, the city sued the county over its environmental impact report, mainly dealing with water.

At the time, City Attorney Andrew Janz said the report was “wholly insufficient and fails to address critical issues affecting City of Fresno residents including water usage and sustainability, housing and sprawl, protection of farmland, transportation, and air quality.  If the City of Fresno is required to play by the rules, then so should the County of Fresno.”

The Central Valley Partnership and League of Women Voters filed a similar, but separate, lawsuit.

On July 23, the county filed a motion to dismiss, claiming the city missed a deadline to request a court hearing within 90 days — based on the California Environmental Quality Act.

The city filed its lawsuit — a writ of mandate — on March 21, creating a June 19 deadline to file its request for a hearing. The city filed that request on July 8 — 19 days late.

Judge Jon Skiles will hear the request in his Fresno County Superior Court room Sept. 19 at 3:30 p.m.

City: Mistake Allowed to Be Forgiven

The city used attorneys Mandy Jeffcoach and Kyle Hampton with its usual outside counsel, Fresno-based Whitney, Thompson & Jeffcoach LLP. The city added Oakland attorneys Rick Jarvis and Christopher Wilson to the case on May 14.

The county alleges that Jarvis missed the deadline, and by state law, the case should be dismissed.

“Strict compliance is required. Though seemingly harsh, the courts have held that no unfairness will result from the mandatory dismissal of CEQA claims,” the county’s motion said.

Jarvis admitted the error, in a July 18 email to attorney Sarah Owsowitz, with BBK, outside counsel for the county.

“This was the result of a calendaring error and oversight for which I was responsible, in the course of associating in to handle this case on behalf of the City,” Jarvis wrote.

Jarvis said he would file a “Section 473” motion, which allows forgiveness of certain filing mistakes.

“Case authority clearly establishes the availability of such relief under these circumstances, where a petitioner’s counsel takes prompt action to correct such oversight,” Jarvis wrote in the same email.

Meanwhile, City Has Used 90-Day Rule to Dismiss Cases

The county, anticipating the city’s reasoning, noted in its motion that Fresno has used the 90-day rule at least twice in recent memory to dismiss CEQA suits.

Regarding the “Section 473” forgiveness, the county said Jarvis had more than a month since joining the case, “undermining any contention that the association somehow prevented the City from timely filing its request for a hearing.”

The county said the city also had the other law firm and its own in-house counsel to file the motion on time.

“Given the City’s extensive litigation team for its lawsuit … (it) is not a valid excuse under Section 473 for the City’s tardiness in requesting a hearing on its CEQA claim,” the county’s motion to dismiss said.

Even if the city’s suit is dismissed, Jarvis wrote that the city could intervene or file an amicus brief in the Central Valley Partnership/LVW lawsuit.

The city has yet to file its official response to the motion to dismiss, but it is expected this week.

City Settles Police Crash Case for Nearly $1 Million

The Fresno City Council last week approved a settlement with a brother and sister who were injured in a crash with a Fresno police cruiser.

The city will pay Johnny Barbosa and Loni Barbosa $995,000 — paid from the city’s risk management fund. Loni suffered the worst of the injuries, requiring surgery for a broken arm. Johnny suffered neck, back and knee pain.

The Barbosas sued the city for an April 14, 2023 crash involving a Fresno police vehicle driven by officer Jeremy Kuckenbaker.

KMPH Fox 26 reported at the time that the crash happened in the morning at Fresno and G streets.

“Police say the officer was responding to a gun disturbance call and say the cruiser was running with lights and siren at the time of the crash. They say the officer sustained a minor injury to one hand. There were two people in the car; one was taken to the hospital by ambulance and the other was taken by a family member,” the TV station reported.

The 7-0 vote was not announced out of closed session. Normally, any vote taken in closed session must be reported publicly. However, the city said it does not need to report settlements until they are final — meaning the agreements are signed and cash has changed hands, based on Government Code 54957.1 (a)(3)(B).

It is unclear if the department disciplined Kuckenbaker.

City Close to Settling Slip and Fall Case

The city of Fresno is close to another settlement — for a slip and fall on a city street.

Attorney Jesse Fretwell said the city settled for $212,500 for his client Ella Burton. They signed the settlement on their end.

In 2021, Burton was riding her bike at the intersection of San Bruno and Contessa avenues in west Fresno. Water, algae and mud built up in the gutter because of a faulty drainage system.

Burton slipped, suffering a severely broken leg.

Fretwell told GV Wire the homeowner, where the accident occurred, notified the city for years about the water and sediment buildup. The settlement avoided a trial.

“With the risks on both sides being out there, we went to a private mediation, worked with the mediator and came to a number that made everybody happy,” Fretwell said.

The homeowner will be responsible for an additional $112,500 settlement.

The city has fixed the area since then.

The city as of Tuesday morning, would not confirm the settlement, as it had not been finalized. On the July 25 city council closed session agenda, the city attorney did not announce a settlement vote that day.