Silver v. City of Los Angeles

Defendants appeal from a judgment in favor of plaintiff after trial before the court in an action brought by plaintiff as a taxpayer to have declared void, and to set aside, an oil and gas lease between defendant City of Los Angeles, as lessor, and defendant Los Angeles Harbor Oil Development Co., as lessee, covering approximately 6,400 acres of submerged lands in the Los Angeles Outer Harbor.

This is the sole question necessary for us to determine: May a taxpayer bring a representative action to set aside a contract entered, into between a municipality and a private corporation relative to…