Crime & Safety
Lunada Bay Boys Lawsuit Proceeds With Motions Hearing
A motions hearing was scheduled Wednesday in the lawsuit against the group accused of intimidating outsiders from surfing at Lunada Bay.
PALOS VERDES ESTATES, CA — A motions hearing was scheduled Wednesday in a lawsuit brought by surfers Cory Spencer and Diana Reed against the Lunada Bay Boys, a local surfing group, and the city of Palos Verdes Estates.
In the proposed class-action complaint Spencer et al. v. Lunada Bay Boys, surfers and nonprofit Coastal Protection Rangers allege the Lunada Bay Boys have harassed and intimidated surfers who are not from the area. They also allege that the city has not done enough to stop their behavior, accusing the city of encouraging "localism" for more than 40 years in the area with one unwritten rule: ‘If you don’t live here, you don’t surf here.’
"Lunada Bay is a premier surf spot, located in Palos Verdes Estates," according to the complaint. "The Lunada Bay Boys are alleged to be a group of young and middle-aged men, local to Palos Verdes Estates, who consider themselves to be the self-appointed guardians of Lunada Bay."
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The proposed complaint argues the 'Bay Boys' are trying to keep outsiders away from surfing at Lunada Bay.
"One of their tenets is to keep outsiders away from the surf location through threats and violence," according to the lawsuit. "Plaintiffs are non-locals who have tried to surf Lunada Bay, but encountered harassment by the Bay Boys."
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The group is accused of building and maintaining a rock fort to block access to the shoreline.
Surfers have described having their tires slashed, being pummeled by dirt, and more. The Bay Boys have allegedly been guarding the beach against outsiders for 40 years.
The Bay Boys, specifically defendants Charlie Mowat and Michael Thiel, are accused of public nuisance, assault and battery, and conspiracy.
The complaint alleges that Palos Verdes Estates city officials did nothing to stop the group, and ignored the requests of the California Coastal Commission, another plaintiff, to make the beach more accessible to all.
In December 2015, Police Chief Jeff Kepley told the Los Angeles Times that he would add patrols to the coast. In Feb. 2016, a sting operation was planned but eventually canceled.
- City News Service and Patch Editors Nicole Charky and Michael Wittner contributed to this report.
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