Judge approves Lunada Bay ‘surf gang’ settlement as Palos Verdes Estates agrees to make modest improvements

LOS ANGELES (CN) — The long-running legal dispute between a pair of surfers and the wealthy city of Palos Verdes Estates over localism at Lunada Bay is finally over after a Superior Court judge signed off on a settlement agreement in which the city promised to make a number of modest improvements to the area around Lunada Bay

The city-owned beach is renowned for its natural beauty and big waves.

In 2016, plaintiffs Cory Spencer and Diana Miernik accused the Lunada Bay Boys, a clique of locals, of harassing and bullying outsiders — jealously guarding the crescent-shaped cove as their own terrain for decades. They also accused Palos Verdes Estates of failing to crack down on, and perhaps even condoning, the harassment, in the hopes that it would keep away non-locals.

In both cases, the defendants were accused of violating the Coastal Act by impeding public access to a beach. The case made it all the way to trial, but two weeks in, proceedings were put on pause as the parties agreed to enter into negotiations. The settlement that was produced last week left both sides claiming victory. Spencer called the settlement a "win-win," and said he thought it would "lead to more access, and just present this place as open."

The deal will see the judge enter a consent decree enforcing it for five years. Spencer's attorney, Kurt Franklin, said that consent decree made his clients the "winners" of the suit.

"This is what we’d asked the city to do in the spring of 2016, was to take care of this problem out there," Franklin said. "It’s always been about equitable relief."

Attorney Christopher Pisano represented Palos Verdes Estates.

"I think this is a really good deal for the city," he said of the settlement. "As well as the trial was going for us, the potential penalties that the city was facing — tens if not hundreds of millions of dollars — it was an unbelievable risk that would have driven the city into bankruptcy. This takes that risk off the table."

Spencer and Miernik initially named 12 members of the Lunada Bay Boys as defendants. Over the years, all but one settled, agreeing to pay fines or to stay away from the beach for a year. By the time trial began only one alleged Bay Boy, Alan Johnston, remained. He has now been released from the case and will pay nothing.

His lawyer, Harry Safarian, called it an "absolute vindication" for his client.

"There is a reason why the plaintiffs are walking away after eight years of litigation against this man taking absolutely nothing from him," Safarian said. "It’s unfortunate that he was swept up in a sensationalized narrative that did not comport with reality."

Safarian said the trial had been "utterly lopsided and embarrassing for the plaintiffs" and that testimony showed "there was no such gang and there never was a gang. This has been the subject of myth."

Under the deal the city agreed to install a number of features on the bluff top overlooking the beach aimed at encouraging public access, including two new welcome signs, an interpretive sign, a water fountain and park benches.

Currently, two public trails lead down to the beach: a treacherous "goat trial" leading down to where surfers typically want to go, and a safer but less convenient path to the south.

New vegetation and a warning sign will try to dissuade visitors from descending on the "goat trail," according to the agreement. Other signs will direct visitors toward the south trial — though there will be no improvements made to the south trail to make it, say, easier to walk down.

"That was a compromise," Franklin admitted. "That was something we pushed for but didn’t get. We’d still like to see it happen." He added: "The city was worried about tort risk."

Pisano described the city's position differently.

"The city has, in its governing documents, a desire to have a completely untouched, natural look," Pisano said. "So the city resisted these improvements because of the desire to keep it natural. This was a tough settlement to reach in that regard, because it is important to the city, and it should be, to preserve nature."

He added: "You don’t necessarily want hundreds of people traipsing around down there."

The city also agreed to forward any complaints of harassment or bullying to the costal commission and to have the police do regular sweeps of the beach for unpermitted structures — for example, the shack-like BBQ area local surfers once erected — and illegally stored recreational equipment like kayaks or coolers. There will be no added police presence to police bullying or harassment.

"I’m convinced that the city will take this seriously now," Franklin said. "Certainly the bad actors have been identified. We think it’s a new day."

He said he was hopeful that the improvements to the bluff top will encourage more visitors to Lunada Bay, which will also discourage localism. "If you have more eyes down there, you can’t operate in secrecy. We think that’s a powerful tool."

The city agreed to pay between $1 million and $4 million in attorneys' fees for the plaintiffs, with the exact amount to be determined by the judge in a few months. Franklin said in the last eight years, he's spent more than 5,000 hours on the case, adding, "The max wouldn’t come close to making us whole."

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