By Eric Heinz
The owners of the Miramar Event Center announced on April 10 that a federal judge has dismissed the case against them and has dropped an order to cease all work that can be done on the building.
In February, a federal lawsuit disputing the clear title of the theater was filed on behalf of Craig Baptiste and Mach-1 Autogroup of San Clemente. His brother, Barry Baptiste, made the same challenge in 2013.
The lawsuits began after partnership among the current owners, El Camino Real Estate Holdings LLC, which includes frontman Marc Spizzirri, and the litigants went sour about 10 years ago. As part of a bankruptcy settlement, the owners of Mach-1 deemed that the theater should be in their possession.
“The court announced that it will issue a written order, which has not yet been received,” a press release from El Camino Real Estate Holdings stated.
There is an appellate period of about 20 or 30 days, Spizzirri said, should Mach-1’s owners decide to further challenge the matter. But work is now allowed to continue on the theater and adjacent bowling alley, which have sat vacant since at least 1992.
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