| ANAHEIM, CA - (January 19, 2005) - Today, the City of Los Angeles filed a legal brief in Orange County Superior Court, supporting the City of Anaheim request for a preliminary injunction in their case against the Anaheim Angels for breach of contract and violation of the covenant of good faith and fair dealing.
The amicus curie (friend of the court) brief contends that "Anaheim is not located in the City of Los Angeles, and the Angels should not be permitted to adopt a name that begins with the geographical identifier 'Los Angeles.'" The brief states "it is improper for the Angels to use the Los Angeles name. The Angels do not play their games in Los Angeles, they do not contribute to the financial success or tax revenues of Los Angeles; and they simply are not part of either the City or County of Los Angeles." Finally, the brief contends that after moving in 1966 to Anaheim, "the Angels developed a close association with their fan base in Orange County and Anaheim, they have maintained no links to the City of Los Angeles- As a result, the Court should reject the Angels' attempt to profit from the Los Angeles name they abandoned long ago . The Angels are in the middle of a 33-year lease agreement with the City to play their home games in a City-owned stadium. The City of Anaheim claims "there has been a conscious, systematic, and pervasive elimination of Anaheim from references with the (Anaheim Angels) team name" and that the proposed name is a transparent attempt to eliminate Anaheim from the team name completely. The team has instructed other major League Baseball teams to refer to the team as LA (Los Angeles) instead of ANA (Anaheim) and has instructed teams to use Los Angeles Angels in media guides rather than Los Angeles Angels of Anaheim. The City contends that these actions breach the parties' 1996 Lease Agreement which was intended to identify Anaheim with the team so as to publicize Anaheim as a major league city throughout the nation. The City has designed a website for fans to voice their concerns about this issue at http://www.savetheanaheimangels.com/. A copy of the brief filed by the Los Angeles City Attorney and other relevant documents can also be viewed on the City's website at http://www.anaheim.net/. - Read Los Angeles Legal Brief Media Contact: Ruth Ruiz 714.765.5060 more city news
### ABOUT ANAHEIM - The City of Anaheim, founded in 1857, is one of the nation's premier municipalities and is California's 10th most populous city. Anaheim covers 50 square miles with more than 345,500 residents and more than 3,200 City employees. The municipal corporation's annual budget is $1.4 billion. Anaheim supports a thriving business community with companies such as Carl Karcher Enterprises, Inc., L-3 Communications, Pacific Sunwear, and Disneyland Resort. Successful sports franchises call Anaheim home, including Angels Baseball, Anaheim Ducks, the 2008 Olympic Gold Medal winning U.S. Men's National Volleyball Team, and the 2008 Olympic Silver Medal winning U.S. Women's National Volleyball Team. Anaheim also boasts world-class meeting and entertainment venues with the Anaheim Convention Center, the largest on the west coast, Honda Center, The Grove of Anaheim, The Shops at Anaheim GardenWalk, and Angel Stadium of Anaheim. Annually, Anaheim welcomes millions of visitors to the city, truly making it where the world comes to live, work and play. For more information, please visit www.anaheim.net. |
