Mediation Fails in Angel Name Lawsuit

The Angels and the city of Anaheim failed to settle their lawsuit during a three-hour mediation session Friday.

Representatives of both sides, including Angel owner Arte Moreno and Anaheim Mayor Curt Pringle, attended the session, held under the auspices of Orange County Superior Court Judge Kim Dunning.

Pringle said no deal was reached and no further sessions are scheduled.

“It doesn’t look like there’s that common ground at this point,” he said.

Pringle said he could not discuss the terms proposed by either side. Angel attorney George Stephan declined to comment.

The Angels and the city have met six times, with three mediators, without resolving the suit. The trial continues with a fourth day of testimony Monday.

The city claims the team’s new name -- the Los Angeles Angels of Anaheim -- violates the stadium lease. The city has insisted “Los Angeles” be removed from the name in any settlement; the Angels have refused.

“We’re looking forward to presenting the rest of our case,” Councilwoman Lorri Galloway said. “At this point, we still want it to be the Anaheim Angels.”

On Wednesday, when Pringle was not in court, Moreno said that neither Pringle nor anyone with “the authority to make a deal” had participated in a previous settlement discussion.

In response, Pringle said the City Council had provided its representatives with guidelines for negotiation and said he would have broken away from his full-time job -- mayor is a part-time position in Anaheim -- had the two sides closed in on a deal.

-- Bill Shaikin