Advanced Real Estate Services Inc. v. Superior Court

INTRODUCTION

In 2009 the Legislature passed section 3884.2 of the Food and Agricultural Code providing for the sale of the Orange County Fairgrounds (the *341 Fairgrounds). In November 2010, the executive branch Department of General Services (the Department) accepted the bid of Facilities Management West, Inc. (Facilities Management), to buy the Fairgrounds for $100 million, consisting of $20 million down, with the remaining $80 million to be paid off over the course of 35 years.

A disparate group consisting of rival bidders, friends of the Orange County Fair, a state senator, an Assemblymember, and a Costa Mesa council member brought this suit to stop the sale. The trial court issued a temporary restraining order on November 17, 2010, precluding any further action on the part of the Department to consummate the sale of the Fairgrounds. However, the trial court ordered the temporary restraining order lifted on December 21, which would have allowed the sale to go through. On that day, in response to a petition for a writ of supersedeas from the opponents of the sale, this court stepped in and issued a stay, stopping the sale from going forward until we could consider…