In 1994 Bernardi sued the city of Los Angeles and its redevelopment agency, alleging that the agency violated the state's open meetings law when it was considering plans for Downtown Los Angeles. He helped finance the costs of his lawsuit by selling a videocassette of several big bands performing his favorite tunes. Eventually, appellate courts and the state supreme court ruled in favor of Bernardi in the main thrust of his claim, which effectively set a cap on the amount of money the agency could spend on the project.