HomeMy WebLinkAboutStaff Report 13804ŝƚLJŽĨWĂůŽůƚŽ;/ηϭϯϴϬϰͿ
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City of Palo Alto Page 1
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ZĞĐŽŵŵĞŶĚĂƚŝŽŶ
Staff recommends that the City Council approve and authorize an increase in the contract
amount of the legal services agreement with the law firm of Colantuono, Highsmith &
Whatley, PC for litigation defense in the case of Green v. City of Palo Alto, et al., Court of
Appeal of the State of California, Sixth Appellate District, Case No.: H049436, (Contract
S17167696), by an additional $70,000 for a total not to exceed amount of $455,000 and an
extension of the contract term to October 1, 2024.
ŝƐĐƵƐƐŝŽŶ
In October 2016, the City retained Colantuono, Highsmith & Whatley, PC (Contract S17167696)
to represent the City in the case of Miriam Green v. City of Palo Alto, et al., Court of Appeal of
the State of California, Sixth Appellate District, Case No.: H049436.
The lawsuit was filed on October 6, 2016, decided by the Superior Court on June 24, 2021, and
the City filed a notice of appeal on September 21, 2021 and Plaintiffs filed a notice of cross-
appeal on October 21, 2021.
Additional funds are needed for briefing and oral argument at the Court of Appeal.
ZĞƐŽƵƌĐĞ/ŵƉĂĐƚ
No budget amendment is required for this action. The City Attorney’s existing budget includes
sufficient amounts to fund the additional cost of the $70,000 for litigation defense from
Colantuono, Highsmith & Whatley, PC in the Green litigation.
ŶǀŝƌŽŶŵĞŶƚĂůZĞǀŝĞǁ
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City of Palo Alto Page 2
Amendment of legal services contracts is not a project requiring environmental review under
the California Environmental Quality Act (CEQA)
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