Edward Britt, a member of the group, filed suit against the city on behalf of the CCC on Dec. 7. The suit seeks a special election on the CCC's three initiatives and also challenges the legality of closed-door meetings the city held on those initiatives.

Gary Wesley, Britt's attorney, said Britt and the CCC filed the lawsuit for two reasons, one centering on the legality of the city postponing the special election, the second to determine any violations of a state open meetings law. Documents filed with the Superior Court of Santa Clara County allege Cupertino's city council held five closed sessions on CCC's petitions in violation of California's Brown Act.

Charles Kilian, the attorney for Cupertino, said that the city had already discussed the CCC petitions thoroughly in public sessions at city council meetings.

"The city has 30 days to file a response to the lawsuit," he said, "and [in the meantime] will think about how it plans to do so." Kilian said lawsuits challenging the Brown Act are fairly commonplace.

Cupertino's government has so far resisted the CCC's petitions, in part because of the estimated $370,000 expense of a special election, and also because of questions about the signatures on CCC's petition to hold a special election. Nov. 1 Cupertino's city council voted unanimously to put the petitions on the ballot in November 2005.

According to CCC member, Dennis Whittaker, the decision to move the election is a part of a city pattern of misinformation. "We were led to believe in the spring it would be on the ballot in November [of this year]," he said. "We didn't realize there was no November [city] election this year."

Whittaker said his groups' objective is not a lawsuit, but rather to have an impartial moderator hear the case. "We're just trying to get have a hearing in court and have a judge make a decision."

The CCC formed last January in response to city development projects, particularly Cali Mill Plaza at the corner of Stevens Creek and De Anza Boulevard. The group seeks to preserve Cupertino's suburban character through controlled growth. As a part this goal, the CCC drafted three petitions they wished to have included in the city's general plan. The three petitions center on building height and density, and the distance of buildings from the street.

The case also seeks court costs and attorney's fees. The California state bar association has disciplined Wesley in the past. According the bar association's Web site, www.calbar.ca.gov, the bar temporarily disciplined Wesley in 1998. "It was to due to keeping a proper handling of accounts," Wesley said. Whittaker said his group had looked into the issue and were confident the disciplinary actions were due to minor infractions.