State regulators’ fight to revoke Ash Street broker’s license delayed until February

The 101 Ash St. real estate broker who persuaded a San Diego Superior Court judge to stop state regulators from taking away his license — at least for now — will have until early next year to prepare his case.

Jason Hughes, who pleaded guilty to a misdemeanor conflict of interest violation last year and agreed to repay San Diego millions of dollars for his role in two suspect city leases, is suing the California Department of Real Estate over plans to revoke his broker’s license.

Three months ago, just as the revocation was due to go into effect, Judge Carolyn M. Caietti ruled that Hughes could keep his license while the revocation case is litigated in state court.

After a status conference in the case last week, the judge issued a schedule dictating when each side will need to have filed various motions. The filings will be due in January and early February, and the dispute is scheduled to be decided later next winter.

Hughes served one year of probation and paid a $400 fine following his guilty plea related to a pair of leases he negotiated on behalf of the city some 10 years ago.

He also had to repay the $9.4 million in fees he received for his work on the city’s acquisitions of the Civic Center Plaza office tower and the nearby high-rise at 101 Ash St. He later got his criminal record expunged.

Hughes was the only person prosecuted for the Ash Street lease, which cost taxpayers more than $200 million for a building that remains unsafe to occupy due to asbestos and other issues.

After Hughes pleaded guilty to the misdemeanor charge, state real estate regulators sought to revoke his license on the grounds that he had illegally benefitted from his work for the city.

An administrative law judge initially recommended Hughes have to pay $4,000 for representing multiple sides of the transaction. But the then-director of the state Department of Real Estate later decided the so-called dual agency should cost Hughes his license.

Hughes said he had told at least six San Diego city officials that he planned to seek compensation for his work related to the two leases, citing a letter he sent to the then-real estate director that she accepted and signed.

But state regulators nonetheless said this work was improper.

Last year they formally revoked his broker’s license, but Hughes repeatedly appealed the decision. Days before the revocation was due to take effect, he challenged the decision in Superior Court and won a stay.

“This is an exigent circumstance,” the judge ruled. “I think it’s important to maintain the status quo at this point. I don’t believe the public interest will suffer by continuing the stay (of) the license being taken.”

The lawyer representing the state had a different point of view.

“A stay is absolutely against the public interest,” Deputy Attorney General Andrea Schoor-West said in court earlier this year. “To this day he failed to accept responsibility for his actions.”

Even if the state succeeds in revoking Hughes’ license, the brokerage firm in downtown San Diego that he co-founded is likely to persist. Hughes Marino and its many brokers hold numerous licenses allowing them to conduct real estate services in California.