City of Alameda and SunCal Settle Lawsuit

The City of Alameda and SunCal have agreed to resolve all their differences and settle their lawsuit, eliminating all risks to the City and Alameda Point. In the settlement, the City of Alameda will make payments to SunCal over the next 18 months totaling $3.177M, as well as returning SunCal’s initial deposit of $1.073M, which was paid to the City more than 5 years ago. This settlement was authorized by a unanimous 4-0 vote of the Alameda City Council.

“The cost of defending this case continues to skyrocket, and will certainly surpass this settlement amount if we go to trial, even if the City prevails,” said City Attorney Janet Kern. “The parties were on the verge of beginning extensive discovery in advance of trial, which was anticipated by the end of 2013. This is a prudent settlement: it gets the City out of this case; it lifts the cloud over Alameda Point; and, it clears the path for future development projects. This settlement frees both parties to set aside past disagreements and go our separate ways.”

SunCal sued Alameda two years ago, claiming the City had failed to act in good faith when it ended exclusive negotiations with SunCal relating to development at Alameda Point, the former Naval Air Station. On January 20, 2012, United States District Court Judge Charles Breyer granted a motion by the City to dismiss SunCal’s lost profits claim. The judge required the parties to engage in further discovery on the issue of possible recovery of out-of-pocket costs. That decision would have been subject to appeal.

On September 14, 2012, Judge Breyer granted the City of Alameda’s motion for partial summary judgment, dismissing SunCal’s claim for recovery of its out-of-pocket costs. The decision limits SunCal's monetary claim to the return of its $1million dollar deposit, plus interest. That decision, too, would have been subject to appeal.