San Diego County Fair Will Proceed After Deal Reached; Legal Tiff Persists

San Diego CA

19 April, 2022

5:56 PM

Description

By Elizabeth Ireland, Times of San Diego April 19, 2022 A deal was reached Monday for the 2022 San Diego County Fair to go forward this summer, after this year's event appeared to be in jeopardy due to a lawsuit over alleged bid rigging. The agreement for the fair to proceed came in the wake of an injunction issued earlier this month by San Diego Superior Court Judge Kenneth Medel, which blocked a contract fairgrounds owners issued to Ray Cammack Shows, a company that provides rides, games and other carnival attractions. Another company, Talley Amusements, alleges in its lawsuit that the 22nd District Agricultural Association, which operates the Del Mar Fairgrounds, circumvented a competitive bidding process in order to award a contract for all carnival operations to RCS. Medel concurred in his ruling, in which he stated Talley had a probability of prevailing on its claims that the agricultural association "has not followed the procedures that it adopted and advertised for the bidding process" and that "there is at least the appearance of favoritism which is contrary to public policy." John Moot, an attorney representing Talley, said in a statement that despite the injunction, his client "will participate under the traditional Independent Midway model along with RCS and other traditional providers of rides." Moot said the lawsuit will remain on hold until after the fair. Tickets for the fair, slated for June 8 through July 4, are already on sale. City News Service contributed to this article. Times of San Diego is an independent online news site covering the San Diego metropolitan area. Our journalists report on politics, crime, business, sports, education, arts, the military and everyday life in San Diego. No subscription is required, and you can sign up for a free daily newsletter with a summary of the latest news.