Anaheim’s Ex-Manager, Talley, Sues the Angels

Former Anaheim City Manager William O. Talley filed a lawsuit Friday alleging that the owners of the California Angels sought to have him fired because of his role in a dispute between the city and baseball franchise over development around Anaheim Stadium.

In the suit filed in Orange County Superior Court in Santa Ana, Talley seeks unspecified monetary damages from Golden West Baseball Co., the corporation that owns the Angels, for “inflicting severe mental and emotional stress” on the former city official. Also named by Talley in the suit were Michael M. Schreter, the team’s executive vice president and treasurer, and Jacqueline Autry, the team’s executive vice president and wife of longtime club owner Gene Autry.

Now in Mission Viejo

Last summer, Talley resigned his post with severance pay after 11 years as city manager of county’s largest city. He has been acting city manager of Mission Viejo since March 31.

In the complaint, Talley alleges that Golden West Baseball “engaged in a series of acts designed to disrupt and interfere” in order to discredit his job performance and lead to his dismissal. The suit does not specify the nature of those acts, and attorneys for the two sides could not be reached Friday for comment on the allegations.

Before his departure from Anaheim, Talley was criticized by the City Council for his management style and his handling of several lawsuits involving the city, including one arising from a dispute with the Angels over planned modifications at Anaheim Stadium.

Filed to Halt High-Rise

The suit was filed in 1983 by the Angels to halt a high-rise development by the Los Angeles Rams on 20 acres of the parking lot surrounding the stadium. The $200-million office development was part of the agreement that brought the Rams football team to Anaheim.

The Angels claimed the project would have eliminated 12,000 vehicle spaces, creating a parking shortage and traffic problems getting in and out of the stadium.

Earlier this month, the Angels declared victory in the long-running legal feud when Orange County Superior Court Judge Frank D. Domenichini issued a permanent injunction barring development on the lot without the Angels’ advance approval.