Stadium operators tied to SoFi Stadium have joined the University of California, Los Angeles, in asking a court to pause a lawsuit filed by the City of Pasadena and the Rose Bowl Operating Company while an appeal over arbitration proceeds.
“Defendants will suffer irreparable harm without a stay, including by expending significant resources litigating a case in court that the appellate court may conclude belongs in arbitration proceedings,” lawyers for SoFi Stadium wrote in the March 2 motion.
The motion was filed in Los Angeles County Superior Court by Kroenke Sports & Entertainment LLC and Stadco LA LLC, who asked the court to stay all proceedings in the case while the defendants challenge a judge’s earlier ruling denying their request to move the dispute into arbitration.
A hearing on the motion to stay proceedings is scheduled for April 28 in Los Angeles County Superior Court. The City Council was scheduled to discuss the matter in closed session on Monday.
Last month, Los Angeles County Superior Court Judge Joseph Lipner denied a request by the UC Regents, on behalf of UCLA, to force arbitration in an ongoing lawsuit with the City and the Rose Bowl Operating Company over the Bruins’ long-term stadium agreement.
The defendants filed notices of appeal on Feb. 23, according to the court document.
A clause in the lease applies only to disputes over whether specific “defects or deficiencies” under the agreement occurred or were cured — not to claims alleging an attempt to terminate or abandon the contract altogether.
Lipner ruled the lawsuit instead focuses on what Pasadena characterizes as UCLA’s efforts to end or evade its core obligation to play home games at the Rose Bowl. Such claims, including anticipatory repudiation — alleging UCLA signaled intent to leave before the lease expires — fall outside the scope of the arbitration language, the court ruled.
The lawsuit, brought by Pasadena and the Rose Bowl Operating Company, accuses UCLA of breaching its long-term agreement to play home football games at the Rose Bowl. City officials contend UCLA explored moving its games to SoFi Stadium in Inglewood before the current contract expires in 2044.
UCLA has announced plans to play at the Rose Bowl next season.
Attorneys for the SoFi Stadium operators argue the agreement requires arbitration for disputes involving violations of the contract.
In the filing, they said the appeal raises “substantial or debatable” legal issues about whether the arbitration clause should apply to the claims in the lawsuit.
“Defendants will suffer irreparable harm without a stay, including by expending significant resources litigating a case in court that the appellate court may conclude belongs in arbitration proceedings,” the motion states.
The defendants also contend that a stay may be required under the Federal Arbitration Act while the appeal is considered.
City officials say the lawsuit is intended to enforce the terms of the university’s Rose Bowl agreement and ensure UCLA continues playing its home games at the historic stadium under the existing contract.
Get our daily Pasadena newspaper in your email box. Free.
Get all the latest Pasadena news, more than 10 fresh stories daily, 7 days a week at 7 a.m.
