An Orange County judge is keeping the pressure on Huntington Beach in a closely watched fight over state oversight, but she is not pulling the trigger on a decision just yet.
On Monday, Orange County Superior Court Judge Carmen Luege pressed attorneys on both sides of the California state auditor’s lawsuit against Huntington Beach, then declined to rule from the bench. At the heart of the dispute is whether the city must cooperate with a state audit of its nearly $5 million settlement with Pacific Airshow after the 2021 oil spill wiped out the event’s final day. Luege tentatively set an evidentiary hearing for March 2, giving the city a chance to justify its refusal to turn over documents and make staff available for interviews.
According to the Los Angeles Times, State Auditor Grant Parks filed suit in October 2024 after Huntington Beach repeatedly rejected requests for records and staff interviews related to the settlement with Pacific Airshow LLC. The complaint seeks access to permits, internal records, and testimony about how the payout was calculated and whether standard procurement rules were followed. Lawmakers had earlier asked for scrutiny of the deal for transparency and potential misuse of public funds, and the lawsuit marked an escalation of that push…