Local News in Brief : Burbank Sues to Force Insurance Firms to Pay

The city of Burbank has filed suit against four insurance companies it says have refused to pay a $3.8 million out-of-court settlement with a concert promoter who once staged rock concerts at the Starlight Bowl.

The suit, filed Tuesday in Los Angeles Superior Court by attorney Margot Metzler, alleges that the city’s four insurance carriers--Admiral Insurance Co., First State Insurance Co., Granite Insurance Co. and Lexington Insurance Co.--were obligated to reimburse the city for the settlement and court costs.

The city is seeking $4.1 million in compensatory damages and $2 million in punitive damages. Also named as a defendant in the suit is the Los Angeles-based insurance brokerage firm of Alexander & Alexander, which lined up the companies for the city.

Representatives of the insurance companies and the insurance brokerage firm could not be reached for comment.

A Los Angeles Superior Court in July, 1985, ordered the city to pay $4.6 million, plus costs and interest, for breach of its contract with the Cinevision Corp. Cinevision signed an exclusive contract with the city in 1975 to operate the amphitheater, now known as the Starlight Amphitheater.

The promoter had sued the city, alleging that its officials improperly canceled shows. Burbank administrators banned concerts by performers such as Jackson Browne, Todd Rundgren and Al Stewart, contending that the shows would attract drug users, homosexuals and anti-nuclear demonstrators.