The residents group that sued the San Diego Padres and the City of San Diego officially lost a lawsuit on November 11 that claimed noise code violations regularly occurred at concerts at Petco Park-adjacent Gallagher Square.
In an unexpected twist, the Residents Concerned About Gallagher Square Noise revealed that due to a September 2025 bifurcation of the three-year-old case, they still have a legal avenue to pursue a nuisance claim against the team and the city.
A spokesperson for the residents group said they are exploring their options to appeal the first “writ claim” case or to go forward with the nuisance claim side of the lawsuit.
Last week, Superior Court Judge Carolyn M. Caietti issued a tentative ruling against the residents. Her final ruling this week confirmed the decision that the San Diego Padres did not violate the city’s noise ordinance and the city didn’t fail to enforce it.
“We’re disappointed by the ruling, which we feel is inconsistent with the protections for surrounding residents intended by the original [Petco Park] project documents,” Residents Group President Wayne Metlitz said.
He added that his group’s members are fans of the Padres baseball team. “And a vibrant downtown,” Metlitz said. “But residents should also be able to sleep and enjoy their homes.”
Metlitz said he was concerned that the judge considered documents about noise regulation that preexisted the completed construction of Petco Park in 2004 and speculated on concert noise that might emanate from the Park at the Park (which was renamed Gallagher Square in 2019).
He noted that the Padres/city case also benefited from an amendment slipped into the city’s noise ordinance earlier this year. That amendment allows the mayor or a designee to waive noise ordinances at special events.
Concerts at Gallagher Square have been deemed special events.
Padres Senior Vice President of Communications Craig Hughner said the team was pleased with the court ruling.
“We remain committed to being good neighbors and working collaboratively with the city and surrounding community to ensure Gallagher Square continues to be a vibrant gathering place for all San Diegans, an amenity for surrounding residents, and an engine for our regional economy,” Hughner wrote in an email.
A member of the residents group who requested anonymity said both sides decided to divide the lawsuit into two buckets in 2025. The goal was to allow the suit to proceed more quickly.
The writ claims suit focused on laws, ordinances and permissions. The nuisance claims focus on noise and lighting causing harm to residents in the East Village neighborhood surrounding Petco Park.
The scope of the second case would be vastly different than the first.
“Nuisance claims require expert testimony about the harm that lights and noise can have on humans,” the resident said. “Neighbors would have to testify as to their injuries/losses; maybe we’d try to show property values have been diminished.”
Judge Caetti gave both sides until mid-December to decide if or how the case might proceed. SDSun
