The city and South Bay developer Roque de la Fuente will square off in appellate court tomorrow when oral arguments in the high stakes case play out in front of a panel of judges.

In June, the judges tentatively overturned a 2001 ruling against the city for $94.5 million. De la Fuente sued the city, alleging the government ruined his 312-acre plot in Otay Mesa by breaking a development agreement and imposing adversarial policies on his land.

With the interest compounding since the Superior Court’s ruling, the city is currently on the hook for about $150 million, City Attorney Mike Aguirre said today. A favorable ruling for the city after tomorrow’s hearing could erase that penalty.

The case will be heard at the Fourth District Court of Appeals in Riverside tomorrow afternoon. Check back later this week for a recap of the hearing.

EVAN McLAUGHLIN

Leave a comment

We expect all commenters to be constructive and civil. We reserve the right to delete comments without explanation. You are welcome to flag comments to us. You are welcome to submit an opinion piece for our editors to review.

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *

This site uses Akismet to reduce spam. Learn how your comment data is processed.