A jury awarded the Beverly Hills Unified School District (BHUSD) the sum of $1,046,610 on July 29 in an eminent domain case with the Los Angeles Country Metropolitan Transportation Authority (MTA).

BHUSD officials expressed considerable disappointment with the verdict. Legal fees expended in litigation with MTA in recent years have exceeded $20 million.

“We are very disappointed with the results. Unfortunately, the results represent years of decision-making by the prior board majorities along with former attorneys and construction/bond manager. Thankfully, this chapter of our history is over, and I look forward to moving on with more transparency and better fiscal and legal management with our new team in place,” said BHUSD Board of Trustees President Mary Wells.

Dr. Michael Bregy, Superintendent of the BHUSD also issued a statement about the verdict to the school community.

“Today we received the verdict regarding the final chapter of our MTA journey. We are disappointed in the decision as we were optimistic that the jury would have seen the merits of our case and awarded a more favorable result. However, with this conclusion, there is now no pending litigation with MTA, and we are moving forward.

“The good news is we will begin the new school year with a fresh start in so many areas. The BHUSD community deserves our full attention to be focused on teaching and learning. This summer our leadership team and the Board of Education restructured our foundation for excellence. We are well positioned to welcome you back and hit the ground running. I am excited to continue working with you as we reimagine education together.”