Yesterday’s intense first round of settlement talks aimed at muscularizing Baldwin Hills oil field regulations went well enough for the parties to promptly schedule a second meeting for one week from tomorrow in the same high-rise Century City law offices.
With a March 29 court date staring back into the weary faces of 20 parties around a long rectangular table, they dickered for nine hours, starting at 10 o’clock in the morning.
“It was an amazing day, and I really was worn out,” attorney Ken Kutcher said this morning after returning to his Santa Monica office. He represents one quarter of the crowd of plaintiffs who want the County to tighten the oil drilling rules for the Plains Exploration & Production Co. while also strengthening related regulations for health and safety purposes.
“It was slow and painful but I think we made progress,” Mr. Kutcher said. “The attitude of most parties was good.” On a 10-scale, he rated the forward progress “a 5 or a 6.”
In evaluating the encouragingly changing circumstances, he and City Councilman Andy Weissman, representing City Hall’s action against PXP, both were guarded in their comments so as not to disclose confidential information.
The earliest signs are promising.
The Outlook Is Cautiously Sunny
“We are working through issues, and as long as we are talking, there is a likelihood we can get to a resolution,” Mr. Weissman said. Asked if he felt more optimistic at the end of the day, he declined to say. “I am encouraged,” he said, “that the parties were able to stay together and talk in a serious, constructive fashion all day long. Twenty people in the same room among the various petitioners and their counsel — and each one needs to express himself. That we finished and everybody agreed to come back, that is encouraging.”
Mr. Kutcher reacted similarly.
“If we make enough progress during the next mediation next week,” he said, “I think we may contact (Judge James Chalfant) and ask for a continuance. We would tell him not only have we had a number of meetings, we are making progress and may be on the verge of settlement.
“It is a discretionary matter for Judge Chalfant. At the same time, it is a lot of work for him to try the case, even if it isn’t a trial in the way people think of a trial.”
Last spring, when a trial date was nearing, the judge “emphatically” told the parties that the most desirable outcome would be for them to settle among themselves.
Don’t expect an early conclusion, though, Mr. Kutcher warned, because a number of the litigating parties need to report the state of negotiations to their boards before denouement can be reached.
