Selig Won’t Tell Angels to Settle Suit With City

With the Angels days away from a high-profile trial against their host city, Commissioner Bud Selig said he has no plans to encourage the team to settle its lawsuit with Anaheim.

“The Angels are going to have to pursue this the way they feel they have to,” Selig said.

In 1996, when Disney refused to complete its purchase of the Angels because the company had reached an impasse with the city over stadium lease negotiations, Selig dispatched an emissary -- Gene Budig, then the American League president -- to help get the deal done.

Disney sold the team to Arte Moreno in 2003, and Moreno last year changed its name from Anaheim Angels to Los Angeles Angels of Anaheim. In the weeks preceding the name change, Selig told Moreno he would approve the change but advised him to work with the city. Selig did not respond to city letters during that time, according to city officials.

Moreno implemented the change and the city sued, alleging the new name violates the lease. The trial is set to start Monday.

The parties have met with a court-appointed mediator five times over the past year, without success.

In a court hearing Thursday, neither party accepted Judge Peter Polos’ invitation to arrange another mediation session, although the sides promised to consider it.

Selig said he would not offer a mediator to reprise the Budig role. He said he has discussed the suit with the Angels, but not with city officials.

“I never like litigation. It’s unfortunate,” Selig said. “I don’t think either side is happy about this.”

The losing party is liable for the legal costs on both sides, a tab that should top $6 million. Moreno has said he expects to spend $4 million to $5 million on the suit, and city spokesman John Nicoletti said Thursday the two law firms representing Anaheim have billed $2,061,576 through Dec. 28.

Also Thursday, an aide to Assemblyman Tom Umberg (D-Anaheim) said the legislator plans to reintroduce a bill that would require the Angels to include disclaimers on tickets and ads warning fans the team plays in Anaheim, not Los Angeles.

The bill passed the Assembly last year but was withdrawn before a Senate committee hearing, and chairwoman Liz Figueroa (D-Fremont) said then that Umberg did not have the votes to get the bill out of committee. Umberg has decided to try again but is uncertain whether to reintroduce the bill during the trial, chief of staff George Urch said.

“We’re pushing it,” Urch said. “The question is when and how.”