The firm represented a lease-leaseback contractor performing work for the Mt. Diablo Unified School District. A third party filed a lawsuit against the contractor and the District claiming the lease-leaseback agreement for HVAC modernization at fourteen campuses was illegal. Both the contractor and the District challenged the complaint by demurrer, seeking to dismiss the lawsuit in its entirety. The trial court dismissed the case.
The First District Court of Appeal agreed with the contractor and the District and upheld the demurrer as to “all of the lease-leaseback related claims that attempt to engraft requirements on the transaction that are not part of the applicable Education Code.” This was another important decision protecting contractors who provided lease-leaseback services at the request of public entities.
A copy of the published decision can be viewed here.
(2017) 12 Cal.App.5th 115
Counsel: Jason R. Thornton and Louis J. Blum