Judge Orders Firm to Explain Fake Citations in Fresno Eminent Domain Case

Fresno County Superior Court Judge Kristi Culver Kapetan ordered Aleshire & Wynder, LLP to explain at an April hearing why more than 10 fake or improper legal citations appeared in a December filing in the City of Fresno’s eminent domain lawsuit seeking the A&T Ceramic Tile building on McKinley Avenue. The judge warned the outside law firm it “will have to explain in an April court hearing why it shouldn't be subject to a $10,000 fine for fake and improper case citations ending up in its December court filings.”

Kapetan set out her findings in a written Feb. 24 ruling that rejected the city’s request and questioned counsel’s legal work. “Based on these observations, the court determines that legal contentions made by counsel for plaintiff were not warranted by existing law as represented through counsel’s signature and filing of the application,” Kapetan wrote in the ruling.

The Feb. 24 opinion cataloged the defects, finding “more than 10 issues with citations from the law firm’s December filings in the lawsuit — four of which reference case law that ‘does not exist either at the citation or by its case name.’” The court filing also referenced a statute in California law, which Culver Kapetan found “does not exist.” The judge described the written order in terms reflected by court records as a “blistering order” and ordered the firm to explain itself at the forthcoming April hearing.

Procedurally, the December filing that triggered the ruling remains part of the case docket while the eminent domain lawsuit is scheduled for trial on March 9. The April hearing on the citations is separate from the March 9 trial date; the court will consider whether to impose the possible $10,000 sanction at that April appearance.

The property owner, Art Terzian of A&T Ceramic Tile, has long warned of heavy losses if forced to relocate. Terzian “told the court in February last year that he had nowhere to go, arguing relocation would cost him between $3.4 million and $7 million,” and he said the city offered him “just above $2 million.” Court filings state Terzian “has not negotiated the offer, or put forward a counter offer.”

Just over two weeks ago, that same building partially went up in flames, a development noted in recent filings and reporting on the case. The lawsuit centers on the city’s effort to acquire the parcel for the Blackstone McKinley Grade Separation Project; “It’s unclear if or how the ruling will impact the future of the Blackstone McKinley Grade Separation Project.”

Kapetan’s Feb. 24 ruling places the spotlight on the accuracy of legal research submitted in eminent domain proceedings and on the conduct of the outside counsel representing the City of Fresno. The April hearing will determine whether Aleshire & Wynder faces the $10,000 sanction and could shape the timetable for the city’s attempt to take the McKinley Avenue property.