A new verb was created during the hearings on Robert Bork’s unsuccessful nomination to the U.S. Supreme Court. He was "Borked" by his opponents.
A charter amendment I wrote for the City of Newport Beach, and proponents William Ficker, Jack Croul, and the Hon. Marion Bergeson, was adopted by a majority of the voters in February, despite opposition from 4 of 7 city council members, and it places the new City Hall on City owned property near the Central Library. A pretty reasonable proposal. And a cost saving one.
But resident Alan Beek has a different idea. Despite overwhelming case law to the contrary, including a century-old California Supreme Court case, he is now suing the City to have the initiative and vote of the people set aside. It is a curious situation. The City Council, a majority of whom did not support the Measure, must defend it in court through their lawyers Reed and Davidson, and the exceptional Brad Hertz. So, the proponents, my clients, seek intervention to help protect the law. We set a hearing for June 5 to intervene in the case. But after that motion was filed, Beek and his lawyer, a liberal environmentalist from San Diego county, filed a last minute motion for a preliminary injunction to be heard on May 29. In other words, Beek and the Newport Greens want their motion to be heard before my clients are formally a part of the case. And they also chose my birthday for their hearing date.
Court schedules being what they are, Beek has put the other attorneys in a bind.
So, I have cancelled my May 29 birthday trip to Canada to instead defend the decision of the voters of Newport Beach, and will seek a expedited hearing on my clients intervention. In the meantime, taxpayers in Newport Beach will be footing the bill to pay lawyers to defend against Beek’s effort to overturn a majority vote of the people to place the location of their City Hall. What a waste! From now on, I declare such a waste of taxpayers funds is to be "Beeked."