The city had accused the landlords of hoarding empty apartments in order to artificially depress vacancy rates.
The City of Long Beach can ill-afford to lose a case of this size, City Council President James Hennessy. We are tremendously relieved that justice was served.
The plaintiffs are expected to appeal the ruling.
City officials readily admitted the award, which would have topped $7 million with interest, could have financially sunk the city, but no contingency had been established.
We had to assume the court would do what was right, Theofan said Wednesday. Hypothetically, he said, the only way to cover that type of award would have been through heavy borrowing.
But Theofan said he never doubted the city would prevail.
The original ruling never made any sense, he said.
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