LOS ANGELES - A judge has ruled that Robert Culp's lawsuit alleging that the Los Angeles Zoo mistreats elephants can go forward.

Judge Reginald A. Dunn rejected arguments by the city that the complaint filed by the 77-year-old actor and real estate agent Aaron Leider lacks a legal basis.

Culp and Leider accuse zoo authorities of withholding medical care from elephants and keeping the animals cramped in small places.

Their lawsuit seeks to stop the zoo from building a $40 million elephant exhibit, and also says the zoo shouldn't keep any elephants.

Deputy City Attorney John A. Carvalho argued Monday that the pair's complaint was political, not legal, and said the zoo is in compliance with federal and state statutes.

"There is no standard by which you can look to once this case proceeds," Carvalho argued. But Dunn rejected the argument and refused to dismiss the lawsuit.

David Casselman, a lawyer for Leider and Culp, who starred in the "I Spy" TV series, said the ruling makes it "a great day for elephants."

In June 2006, zoo elephant Gita died, with a necropsy determining that she suffered a cardiac failure associated with blood clots blocking the right chamber and major vessels of her heart.

An investigation determined that zoo officials were slow to react after the elephant was reported in a downed position.