Judge Glen M. Reiser, acting in place of Judge Thomas Hutchins, who is on vacation, directed that the bills be paid Friday. Utilities at the west Simi Valley complex were slated to be turned off Aug. 1.

Reiser wrote in his ruling, issued at the Ventura County courthouse in Simi Valley, that satisfactory evidence and good cause exist to require residents to pay certain debts.

Reiser ordered one of Le Parc's management companies, acting on behalf of a court-appointed receiver, to pay bills affecting outside service for 264 homeowners. Another $25,000 in bills remain to be paid to G.I. Rubbish, Southern California Edison Co., the Gas Co. and the city.

"This gives me a little relief," said Le Parc resident James Lee, who is recovering at home from triple bypass heart surgery last week.

Money for utilities and maintenance of the complex has been siphoned off since March by an Arcadia contractor intent on collecting a $7 million judgment awarded last year for breach of contract and defamation by a former Le Parc Homeowners Association.

The contractor, Darren Zuzow of ZM Corp., claims his business was ruined as a result of association actions stemming from work performed after the Northridge earthquake.

"We object to these people refusing to settle," said Glenn Campbell, Zuzow's attorney, after Friday's decision. "We've made proposals to keep the utilities on, and these people just keep working to litigate.

"They haven't broken that pattern yet."

Reiser's ruling is an interim order that did not affect the merits of the case, Campbell said.

Le Parc residents, who are marching today in Simi Valley to protest a lack of support from Farmers Insurance toward paying down the judgment, have said they shouldn't be held accountable for the actions of their former homeowners association. The courts have ruled residents must pay $300 a month each to take care of the debt.

Those who have refused to pay have received lien notices that could lead to the loss of their homes. Numerous appeals and countersuits have been filed.

Jim Lingl, an attorney representing the Le Parc Homeowners Association, commended Reiser's ruling, saying it was the fourth time a judge has ordered the lights and other services be kept on at Le Parc.

"He said, 'Mr. Campbell, the utilities are not going to be turned off,' " said Lingl, and that "if it were up to him, he would figure out a way to make sure it didn't happen."

"We dodged another bullet," Lingl said. "This ZM brinkmanship must stop. The problem is, this ZM brinkmanship is making the (residents) crazy."