Anaheim : Angels May Seek to Recover Fees in Trial

If a county Superior Court judge is disqualified from a trial involving the California Angels, the Rams, the City of Anaheim and a Boston-based developer, Angels’ attorneys will attempt to recover fees, court costs and damages they contend they will sustain as a result, a spokesman for the baseball club announced Wednesday.

Attorneys for the Rams and the development firm of Cabot, Cabot & Forbes on Tuesday asked Judge Frank D. Domenichini to disqualify himself from the trial because his clerk, Marshall Norris, distributed an invitation to a campaign fund-raiser that pictured him posing with Angels owner Gene Autry. Norris, who is running for County Clerk, was subsequently relieved of courtroom duties.

Domenichini said Wednesday that he will rule on the disqualification request by May 6.

If Alfred E. Augustini, the Rams’ attorney, pursues the disqualification further, “the Angels will assert their right to the recovery of attorney’s fees, costs and any other damages which they may sustain due to the initiation of a frivolous proceeding undertaken for purposes of delay and other improper motives,” Angels’ spokesman Robert Payton said in a written statement.

Augustini could not be reached for comment.

The Angels brought a $100-million lawsuit against the city and Anaheim Stadium Associates, arguing that the city violated its lease with the Angels when it offered the Rams part of the stadium parking lot for development as an incentive to relocate in Anaheim.