CA Billionaire Wants Supreme Court To Get People Off His Beach

SAN MATEO COUNTY, CA -- An ongoing dispute over beach access between a Silicon Valley billionaire and California residents will be taken to the U.S. Supreme Court. Vinod Khosla, co-founder of Sun Microsystems, is the owner of Martins Beach, a piece of land that he doesn't want the public on.

Khosla purchased the popular surfing spot, located just off state Highway 1 a few miles south of Half Moon Bay, in 2008 for $37.5 million. Since the purchase, a gate and restrictive signs were put up on the road leading to the shore in 2010, which opponents claim is in violation of the California Coastal Act of 1976.

The previous owners of Martins Beach gave the public access.

San Mateo County Superior Court Judge Barbara Mallach in 2014 ruled in favor of the public, and an appeals court upheld the ruling last August.

Now, Khosla is taking his fight to the country's highest court, according to SFGate.

"Khosla’s lawyers, led by Paul Clement, a former U.S. solicitor general, told the high court Thursday that the California rulings were not only a strained interpretation of the state’s Coastal Act but also a license for the 'taking' of Khosla’s property, in violation of his constitutional rights," SFGate reported.

"If the court grants review, with the votes of at least four of its nine justices, it would hear the case in the 2018-19 term that begins in October," the news organization said.

--Bay City News contributed to this report

--Vinod Khosla speaks about fuels of the future at a Bio Tech conference in Lake Buena Vista, Fla., Wednesday, March 21, 2007. (AP Photo/John Raoux)

Also See:

Billionaire Property Owner Vinod Khosla Testifies In Martin's Beach Public Access Case

CA Supreme Court Won't Hear Billionaire's Appeal On Beach Access