BHUSD loses Metro lawsuit

A federal court ruled against the BHUSD’s latest lawsuit against the Federal Transit Administration and Metro Monday.

BHUSD’s lawsuit alleged Metro wasn’t supported by environmental documentation in its choice of Century City staging areas. Environmental documentation refers to Metro’s Supplemental Environmental Impact Statement, which is a report that explains the positive and negative impacts of a project.

Due to a previous BHUSD lawsuit, Metro is required to more fully document how it decides on its final subway alignment. Judge George H. Wu’s ruling Monday noted that Metro has satisfied its obligation to explain and document why it chose one staging area over an alternative staging area.

LA Metro Communications Manager David Sotero said Metro is grateful for Judge Wu’s ruling on Monday that found it took a hard look at the availability of 1950 Avenue of the Stars for construction staging and sufficiently studied the impacts of using the current staging areas along Century Park East for the Purple Line Extension’s second section.

“We continue to make progress on this vital project to improve mobility in our region and, as usual, the safety of the public and construction workers will continue to be our number one priority,” Sotero said.

BHUSD has filed a number of unsuccessful lawsuits against Metro since its Purple Line Project began. The district has spent more than $17 million on the lawsuits.

“The District’s ongoing responsibility is to ensure the safety of the students and staff during Metro’s work and continue to pursue our interests through the eminent domain process,” said Board of Education President Isabel Hacker.

The board is not expected to appeal the ruling.