Lawsuit against Burbank City, filed

Many California residents are familiar with a fast-food chain called Raising Cane’s Chicken Fingers. In 2020, the food company purchased an old bank building in Burbank, with plans to develop it and open a new store. The city granted project approval in December of that same year. In June 2021, however, a neighborhood association filed a lawsuit stating that city officials failed to adhere to municipal codes when they granted the approval.  

Attorney for plaintiffs says Raising Cane’s needs a CUP 

An attorney representing the plaintiffs in this case has stated that his clients are not at odds with the plans to turn the old bank into a restaurant. He explained that the legal issue in question has to do with city officials granting project approval without issuing a Conditional Use Permit (CUP), which, according to municipal codes, would be required since building plans include reactivating the drive-thru portion of the building, which has sat vacant and abandoned for years.  

The plaintiffs are arguing that, since the drive-thru portion of the old bank building has not been used for approximately three decades, it is, therefore, abandoned. The plaintiffs have also stated that they tried to resolve the issue by presenting seeking a preliminary injunction before the city council prior to filing a legal claim, which only took place after the injunction was denied. City officials claim that another code takes precedence over the code that requires a CUP. City officials also say that the neighborhood association should have filed its complaint within 90 days of project approval. 

Resolving construction litigation issues takes time 

There is typically no overnight fix for complex construction litigation issues. Anyone in California facing similar legal problems will want to be as well-prepared for court as possible. Requesting a meeting with an experience construction law attorney before heading to court is one of the easiest ways to ensure that one has compiled all pertinent documents and information to present a case in a concise yet thorough manner.