A Superior Court judge has denied The Irvine Company’s bid to set aside a nearly $38 million judgment stemming from a long-running San Diego land deal dispute.
In December, a San Diego jury awarded $37.5 million to developer Cisterra Partners LLC of La Jolla in a dispute with the Irvine Co.
The Irvine Co. immediately appealed the decision. But San Diego Superior Court Judge Ronald Prager on Friday issued a ruling keeping the jury award.
The Irvine Co. was critical of the December judgment and vowed to appeal “to protect its reputation.”
The company asserted it was denied a fair trial, among other issues, in its bid to have the jury award dismissed.
The jury award “decision does not change our belief that Cisterra Partners should not receive this wholly undeserved windfall on a complicated real estate transaction in which their own credibility and dealings are seriously in question,” said Latham & Watkins’ Christopher Garrett, lawyer for the Irvine Co.
“The Irvine Company has a 140-year reputation for straight and honest dealing, and an unblemished record in court for our real estate transactions. This matter is far from over. We intend to continue our appeal of this decision and vigorously defend our actions and reputation.”
The six-year-old dispute concerns land that eventually became the local campus of Cambridge, Mass.-based Biogen Idec Inc. in University City.
Cisterra charged the Irvine Co. with sabotaging its deal to buy the 42-acre site in the city’s Golden Triangle area.
