Long Beach

The Harbor Commission has denied an $8-million damage claim by a maritime law firm that alleges the Port of Long Beach has illegally blocked the firm’s lease of an office building on Pier J.

William Collier, a partner in the firm of Keesel, Young & Logan, said a multimillion-dollar suit against the port probably will be filed by the end of the week.

At issue is whether the port can legally prohibit the transfer of an existing lease from one maritime-related company to another.

In early April, the Harbor Commission refused to allow the growing Keesel firm, now headquartered in an 11,000-square-foot building on Pier F, to assume the lease of Agrex Inc. of a 28,000-square-foot office building.

Port officials have said the lease reassignment does not fit into the port’s master plan, which calls for creation of many acres of landfill for cargo handling near the Agrex building.

Port attorneys have said harbor commissioners can legally deny reassignment of a lease, even among existing harbor tenants, if that is in the best interest of the port.