Torres v. City of Montebello
Annotate this CaseSince 1962, Athens has been the exclusive residential waste hauling franchisee for Montebello. In 2008, a candidate for the City Council approached Athens about becoming the city’s exclusive commercial waste hauling franchisee. The candidate won election and the Council approved a contract granting Athens an exclusive residential and commercial waste hauling franchise. The Mayor, who had voted against the exclusive franchise, refused to sign the contract. The City Attorney advised the Mayor that he had a ministerial duty to execute contracts passed by the Council under Government Code 40602. If the Mayor refused to do so, the City Attorney warned, he would be deemed “absent” under Government Code 40601 and the Mayor Pro Tempore would be directed to execute the contract in his stead. Weeks passed without the Mayor signing the contract, until, at the apparent direction of the City Attorney, the Mayor Pro Tempore signed it. Torres sought to invalidate the contract. The trial court found the contract void ab initio because it had not been executed by the Mayor. The court of appeal affirmed; neither the City Attorney nor the Mayor Pro Tempore had authority to deem the Mayor “absent” under the statute, so the signature was ineffective.
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