City Attorney Soto says move ends nonprofit’s attempt to delay city lawsuit seeking return of nearly $50 million in Los Angeles Zoo charitable funds.
By Sarah Lin
A federal bankruptcy court has dismissed a Chapter 11 case filed by the Greater Los Angeles Zoological Association, ruling that the nonprofit filed in bad faith to delay a city lawsuit seeking the return of about $50 million in charitable funds raised for the Los Angeles Zoo and Botanical Gardens.
City Attorney Hydee Feldstein Soto announced the dismissal Tuesday. The court granted the city’s motion after a July 23 hearing, finding that GLAZA’s June bankruptcy petition was intended to thwart litigation in Los Angeles Superior Court.
“It could not be more clear to me that this case should be dismissed for cause, and that cause is bad faith,” the judge said, according to a statement from the city attorney’s office. The court described the filing as “about as bad faith as you can get for a bankruptcy filing” and said there was an ample record showing GLAZA acted to delay the city’s case.
GLAZA was formed in 1963 as a nonprofit to help fundraise for the zoo. The relationship between the city and the association ended in June 2025. That same month, Feldstein Soto’s office obtained a preliminary injunction barring GLAZA from misusing the disputed funds.
The city, which has owned and operated the zoo since it opened in 1966, sued GLAZA in December 2024. The lawsuit accuses the association of breach of contract and breach of fiduciary duties, seeking monetary damages and other relief.