The Los Angeles Department of Water and Power in downtown Los Angeles. Photo: Hayk_Shalunts/Shutterstock

For Los Angeles lawyer Brian Kabateck, the most surprising aspect of the first criminal case over a municipal water overbilling class action lawsuit is the finality of it.

Paul O. Paradis' agreement with the U.S. Attorney's Office in the Central District of California calls for him to plead guilty to a federal bribery charge that's based on facts Paradis has long tried to publicly refute. 

It puts the New York lawyer at the forefront of a four-year bribery scheme involving a collusive lawsuit, secret deals, sham lawyering and fake adversaries, and it leaves no room for denial: Paradis initialed each of the 27 pages, attesting to their accuracy and admitting every word of the narrative.

"I was surprised that he pled, given how strident he was in his fighting of this whole thing for a long time," Kabateck told Law.com. 

A new plea deal unveiled Monday against David H. Wright, the former manager of the Los Angeles Department of Water and Power, says Paradis "began actively cooperating" with the FBI in a grand jury probe "on or about March 29, 2019." Kabateck said that's "beyond surprising."

"It's not believable," Kabateck said. "You have no idea how this guy's lawyers personally attacked me."

Paradis' plea deal appeared to surprise the Los Angeles City Attorney's Office, too. An initial statement from spokesman Rob Wilcox treated it as an allegation, with City Attorney Mike Feuer saying "if that allegation is true" the conduct is inconsistent with his office's standards. Hours later, Wilcox emailed a new statement from Feuer that acknowledged Paradis had admitted the crime: "I am beyond outraged that anyone would breach their duties to the public we serve, as this plea agreement reflects."

Wilcox declined further comment when contacted by Law.com.

'The City Did What It Promised'

As the plaintiff attorney now in charge of the class action lawsuit at the center of the scandal, Kabateck is uniquely positioned as both an observer and a player, tasked with ensuring the class he now represents has been fairly compensated while watching as a federal investigation engulfs the key people who came before him.

Los Angeles County Superior Court Judge Elihu M. Berle appointed him and his firm Kabateck LLP to take over the reopened case in April 2019, nearly two years after approving the $67 million settlement. Kabateck said he's focused on "what happened, and how did it affect the ratepayers, the customers."'

The case is still open—a status conference is scheduled for next Thursday—as 35 LADWP customers appeal a special master's ruling on their refunds claims. But Kabateck and the city have tentatively agreed on fees, according to minutes from a Nov. 18 conference, and Kabateck said in an interview he's sure ratepayers received the refunds they were properly due. 

"I have a high level of confidence that the city did what it promised to do once there was a settlement," Kabateck said.

"It's now been not just checked but triple checked that the intent of this settlement—the spirit of the settlement—has been fulfilled," Kabateck continued. "My investigation revealed that."

Kabateck said Paradis refused to cooperate with his investigation. 

"He was not cooperative in 2019, and he was combative. His lawyers were combative with my investigation. … So yeah, I am surprised that now this has changed," Kabateck said. "As of recently, he was trying to file lawsuits against people."