IE Business Daily Business news for the Inland Empire.
A San Bernardino County Superior Court judge has apparently sided with the High Desert Mavericks in its dispute with Adelanto regarding its use of city-owned Stater Bros. Stadium.
Judge Brian McCarville on Monday granted the team’s request for a preliminary injunction, which will prevent the city from interfering with the Singe-A team’s use of the ballpark, according to a statement released by the team.
McCarville also denied the city’s attempt to evict the team from the ballpark, while ruling that the dispute should be decided in arbitration, a move the city has resisted.
“The Mavericks are delighted that the court has found in our favor on all three matters that were litigated,” Mavericks’ owner Dave Heller said in a statement. “The court spoke in a very clear voice and told the city of Adelanto in unmistakable terms that its legal argument is flimsier, thinner and more full of holes than the thinnest slice of Swiss Cheese known to man.”
In January, the city council voted unanimously to end its $1-a-year lease with the team, a Texas Rangers affiliate that plays in the California League. The city maintains that that agreement violates the state constitution because it represents a gift of public funds to a private business.
The legal battle is far from over, city officials said.
“The rulings rendered by the court [Monday] are tentative, meaning that a final decision is still pending,” the city said in a statement released Tuesday.
