By Arturo Castañares
Editor-at-Large
A lawsuit seeking to undo the City of San Diego’s lease of a downtown building plagued by financial scandal and equipment failures was amended to claim the deal is illegal under the state’s constitution and is now seeking the return of over $23 million already paid by the City.
“The lawsuit was filed by a concerned taxpayer to do what the City isn’t doing – demanding the money back for a building that can’t be used. The lease purchase agreement was unconstitutional on its face and is void,” Maria Severson, one of the lawyers representing plaintiff John A. Gordon, a San Diego resident, told La Prensa San Diego immediately after the amended complaint was filed. Severson is a law partner of former City Attorney Michael J. Aguirre, and is also joined on the lawsuit by attorney Lawrence W. Shea.