SAN DIEGO – A Maryland-based successor to Lockheed Missiles & Space Co. and Lockheed Aircraft Corp. is accused of not restoring a leased property back to its original condition.
San Diego Unified Port District filed a complaint on Aug. 11 in the U.S. District Court for the Southern District of California against Lockheed Martin Corp. and Lockheed Martin Engineering & Sciences Co. alleging breach of contract, nuisance and other counts.
The San Diego Unified Port District is trustee for tidelands and submerged lands in and around San Diego Bay, the suit states.
According to the complaint, the plaintiff alleges that on April 1, 1966, when the San Diego Unified Port District was acting as a trustee, it leased certain land to the defendants. When original terms of the lease and permits had expired in 2015, the defendants allegedly failed to remove its improvements and waste and return the properties to their pre-existing conditions. As a result, the plaintiff claims it continues to incur response costs to address the contamination left by the defendants. The plaintiff holds Lockheed Martin Corp. and Lockheed Martin Engineering & Sciences Co. responsible, because the defendants allegedly failed to restore the rented facility to its pre-development stage.
The plaintiff requests a trial by jury and seeks to have the defendants comply with the removal and restoration requirements to abate the nuisance, purpresture and trespass; costs and expenses; interest; damages; costs and expenses of litigation; and other relief as the court deems appropriate. The plaintiff is represented by William Brown and Wentzelee Botha of Brown and Winters in Cardiff-by-the-Sea and William Jackson and Michael Dobbs of Jackson Gilmour & Dobbs in Houston, Texas.
U.S. District Court for the Southern District of California case number 3:16-cv-02026