As expected, two plaintiffs in the case surrounding proposed development near Memorial Stadium announced yesterday that they have submitted their appeal to the California Appellate Court in San Francisco.

Issued in July and reaffirmed on Monday, the original ruling was a clear win for the UC Berkeley campus, which has been seeking to build a new athletic center near Memorial Stadium since December 2006.

Three groups-including the city of Berkeley-objected to those plans and sued the university soon after the university approved the construction plans.

After the July ruling, the two other plaintiffs in the case-the Panoramic Hill Association and the California Oak Foundation-attempted to appeal Alameda County Superior Court Judge Barbara Miller's ruling.

However, the three-judge appellate court panel said it could not consider the case because Miller had not appropriately finalized the July ruling.

On Monday, Miller reissued her ruling and the same two plaintiffs as before proceeded to resubmit their appeal papers.

The city is still considering whether it will appeal the decision. The Berkeley City Council will return for a

meeting on September 9 and has until

November 11 to decide if it will file an appeal.

In a statement, Stephen Volker, attorney for the California Oak Foundation, said he was confident the plaintiffs would emerge victorious from the appeals process.

"Our case is fundamentally sound and we are confident that the court of appeals will reverse the lower court's position," he said in the statement.

Dan Mogulof, UC Berkeley's executive director of public affairs, said that he is hopeful the issues will be resolved and the construction of the athletic center will soon begin.

"We are cautiously optimistic that this will soon be resolved," Mogulof said.

The court is expected to decide if it will issue a stay on construction in the coming weeks.

If the appellate court grants a stay, it could be more than a year before construction could begin. If it does not, construction could begin as soon as next week.

Tags: ATHLETIC CENTER LAWSUITS, PANORAMIC HILL ASSOCIATION, CALIFORNIA OAK FOUNDATION, APPEAL