An appellate court has ruled that the City of Palos Verdes Estates (PVE) could be held liable under the California Coastal Act for enabling a notorious surfer gang that harassed and intimidated outsiders.
The Lunada Bay Boys have guarded the coveted surfing spot from non-residents for decades. The Boys’ tactics include threats, intimidation and even violence.
In 2016, former Los Angeles police officer Cory Spencer and filmmaker-model Diana Reed sued the Boys and the city, alleging PVE had tacitly condoned the gang’s antics. Part of the lawsuit revolved around a man-made stone fort that the Boys used as an operations base. By failing to dismantle the fort for years and allowing the harassment to continue, PVE had "conspired with the Bay Boys essentially to privatize Lunada Bay," the plaintiffs said.
The lawsuit against PVE was dismissed by a state court judge in 2020, with a determination that the city had not violated the Coastal Act. Last week, an appeals court disagreed.
"The city, as landowner, violated the Coastal Act by maintaining the unpermitted rock fort on its property for decades," Second Appellate District Presiding Justice Laurence Rubin wrote for the panel.
Moreover, "we conclude a change in the access to water brought about by an organized scheme of harassment of, or similar impediment imposed on, those seeking access may be just as much a change in access to water as one brought about by a physical impediment," Rubin wrote. "Accordingly, as the harassment and other conduct alleged here directly interferes with, and sometimes precludes, access to the Pacific Ocean, it can be seen to fall within the language of the [California Coastal Act] statute. Whether there is proof of this state of affairs is left to another day."
The plaintiffs’ attorney Kurt Franklin said the ruling was highly significant.
"It makes clear now that harassment is 'development' under the Coastal Act, and because of that it’s a Coastal Act violation and brings about penalties. So it’s a big deal."
In addition to reviving the case against PVE, this ruling means other California cities could potentially be held liable for localism.
An attorney for PVE addressed the decision in an email to Courthouse News Service.
"The city is disappointed with the appellate court's decision on the narrow issue that it addressed,” Ed Richards wrote. “The case will now be remanded to the trial court where we anticipate that the city will prevail."