After 2-Plus Decades, Santa Monica City Attorney to Retire

SANTA MONICA, CA — Santa Monica City Attorney announced Friday she will be retired by the end of the year.

Marsha Moutrie was appointed to her position in Decemeber 1933. As city attorney, she was responsible for advising the city county, other city officers and represent the city and its employees in civil lawsuits.

“Santa Monica is an incredible place and my 22 action-packed years as city attorney have flown by. My husband has been retired for three years and on Jan. 3, I’ll turn 70," Moutrie said. "We want to see more of the world, together, while we can still explore on foot."

Part of the reason she's retiring is that her mother is bedridden and she would like to spend more time with her in her remaining days.

“Of course, it’s hard to part," she said. "My clients, co-workers and this wonderfully engaged community will always have a special place in my heart.”

Moutrie was responsible for approving contracts, drafting ordinances and resolutions, prosecuting misdemeanors and enforcing local laws. She also appoints the deputy attorneys and support staff needed to fulfill these responsibilities.

“For over two decades, our City has been extremely fortunate to have Marsha leading our legal work. The combination of her deep knowledge of the law, commitment to our complex community and her savvy leadership, has helped shape the vibrant, innovative and diverse city we have today,” Mayor Tony Vazquez said. “We have all benefitted from her absolute dedication to the public process. She will be missed.”

Some of the most notable accomplishments of the City Attorney’s Office during Moutrie's tenure include:

• Litigated against major oil companies who polluted City wells with MTBE; advanced legislation that caused statewide, and later national, phase out of MTBE; recovered $275 million from all major oil companies; later recovered and additional $108 million for PCP/TCE contamination of groundwater by Boeing and Gillette/Proctor and Gamble. The City Attorney’s Office received the ABA State and Local Government Achievement Award, recognizing best public law office in the country for this work. (City of Santa Monica v. Shell)
• Only city attorney’s office in the country to challenge deceptive practices in the bullion/gold sales industry; recovered $10 million for victims.
• Drafted and successfully defended a law regulating events in public spaces for the purpose of ensuring reasonable, shared use; it was challenged on First Amendment grounds, upheld in federal court and became a model for other cities. (Santa Monica Food Not Bombs v. City of Santa Monica)
• Drafted and defended the Affordable Housing Production Program law. That law became a model for other cities. Performed transactional work necessary to produce over 1900 affordable units.
• Recovered a total of $2.5 million for consumers in four recent cases challenging unfair billing and other unfair practices of businesses selling goods and services within the City.
• Litigated through the California Supreme Court Harris v. City of Santa Monica, which changed California reemployment discrimination law. Lawyers representing both sides were jointly given California Lawyer of the Year Award.
• Protected the beach/ocean, public health and the environment by drafting and publicizing laws against smoking and use of reusable plastic bags.
• Protected low wage immigrant workers against wage violations by car washes; recovered $656,000 in back wages.

“Losing Marsha Moutrie, even into her well-earned retirement, which we knew was inevitable, is a challenging transition for our City,” councilman Kevin McKeown said. “I’m grateful we enjoyed her excellent leadership for so many years, and grateful she leaves us such a highly skilled and motivated staff of attorneys to continue handling our legal workload while we seek a replacement."

The City Council is expected to begin its search for a new city attorney next week.

— Photo via Shutterstock