A settlement has finally been reached in the case against the marauding local surfer gang that have allegedly been terrorizing a Los Angeles County coastal paradise for six decades.
Last week the city of Palos Verdes Estates agreed to take steps to not only improve public access to Luanda Bay, but also ‘vigorously enforce’ laws so all surfers can enjoy the waves in peace without the presence of the ‘Bay Boys’ group.
The group has been known to verbally harass, flash, and throw rocks at visitors, as well as vandalize cars, all while hunkering down in a crudely built fort under the Luanda Bay cliffs which functioned as their base of operations, according to the lawsuit.
The city and two surfers – Cory Spencer and Diana Milena Reed – reached an agreement after claiming in a 2016 lawsuit that Palos Verses Estates has ignored the harsh tactics of the rowdy group who have made it their mission to push people away from enjoying the water.
Of the 12 alleged members named in the legal filing, reviewed by LA Times, most of them have reached separate settlements with the plaintiffs and agreed to steer clear of the beach for a year or face hefty fines of $35,000- $90,000, or a combination of the two.
The city has agreed to add signs that make it clear that everyone is welcome at the bay, install stone benches along the bluffs, and conduct regular sweeps of the area to make sure non-permitted activities aren’t present – including the notorious surfer gang’s fort.
Their rock fort was previously demolished in 2016 after the California Coastal Commission received complaints about it.
According to the consent decree, revised by the outlet, city workers will now be required to attend training on coastal access laws.
In addition, all alleged bullying incidents have to be reported to the city manager, the chief of police, the Coastal Commission’s chief and its Southern California enforcement supervisor/manager, the legal order detailed.
If the new agreements are violated, it could result in fines up to $15,000 a day.
The decade-long federal class-action claimed the surfers’ alleged antics came in violation of the California Coastal Act.
The law demands that members of the public have access to sites along the state’s coast, which apparently has not been the case at the bottom of this bluff set along the cusp of the wealthy city of Palos Verdes Estates.’
In the lawsuit, one victim, Reed, claimed she encountered the ‘Bay Boys’ when she visited the surf spot in 2016 at the age of 29.
‘They were screaming profanities at me, making fun of my wetsuit because it was purple – just treating me in a very rude and very threatening manner,’ she previously told KTLA.
‘I was really just frozen in fear, unable to do anything.’
The Malibu resident went on to file a police report, before returning to the stretch of coast a second time, where she said she was met with an even worse reception – two of the men approaching her right off the bat.
‘One of them rushed towards me immediately, with a can of beer, shook the can vigorously, and sprayed the can of beer on my arm and my camera,’ she recalled.
The other man, she said, went on to ‘flash her’ – all while allegedly rubbing his private parts in a sexual manner.
‘They said they were filming me because they thought I was sexy and that I, you know, excite them,’ she told the station, growing emotional.
‘All kinds of vulgar things I’m trying to get past.’
Another plaintiff, retired El Segundo police Officer Cory Spencer, described his ordeal with the beach bums, which he said consisted of him being bombarded with taunts from the group from their hangout built at the base of the cliffs.
‘What the f**k are you doing here?’ and ‘why do you come to surf here?’ were among the jabs he said he was met with upon arrival – with the harassment only worsening after he entered the water.
At that point, he told Justice Laurence Rubin of the California Court of Appeal Second Appellate District, that one of the men, riding the next wave, steered his board directly at him while he was still paddling away.
He recalled how he had to roll off his board to protect himself, and how the back of his wrist got cut by the other man’s board as a result.
Spencer also produced text messages sent by members of the Bay Boys in his portion of the lawsuit, in which the local surfers appeared to relish at the chance to bother him and an acquaintance as they learned the two would be visiting.
‘There are two kooks,’ one of the texts that referred to Spencer reportedly read.
‘[H]e’s got a little bald headed white guy with them.
‘[H]e looks like a boogie board or to f**k [sic] what a joke!’
One of the elitist group members went on to allegedly confront Spencer’s friend by their car on the bluff where the pair had parked, asking why they kept coming back.
‘We’re going to make it hard on you every time,’ the man, one of the defendants who have since settled, said, according to Spencer.
‘This is what we do. It’s not going to get better for you.’
A lifelong surfer who also worked as a police officer in Los Angeles, Spencer felt the need to file the lawsuit, he said – paving the way for Reed to join as well.
They both claimed Palos Verdes Estates, a city of about 13,000, has shied away from cracking down on the longstanding group, the lawsuit alleges.
They said the city protects the band as locals, while also appreciating the fact they keep outsiders out of town.
Following Friday’s settlement, Kate Huckelbridge, executive director of the California Coastal Commission said: ‘We are pleased and support any steps to make sure the public beach is clearly available to the public, and to ensure that Lunada Bay, like the rest of California’s coast and ocean, is safe and welcoming for visitors regardless of their ZIP Codes.’
Palos Verdes Estates Mayor Dawn Murdock stated that some residents will be pleased with the decision, while others won’t be as happy because of how much money was spent on legal fees.
‘The City has been through a roller coaster of rulings on this lawsuit, and as we looked into the future, we simply saw nothing but more legal fees and uncertainty,’ Murdock said.
‘Our focus needs to be on resident priorities and it’s good to no longer have this matter consuming valuable resources.’
The city has agreed to pay $1million-$4million for Spencer and Reed’s legal fees, but it is unclear the exact amount they will receive, the LA Times reported.
Christopher Pisano, the attorney who represented the wealthy city in the case, said that if Palos Verdes Estates lost the case, it would face an ‘existential financial risk.’
‘This settlement achieves certainty, taking the risk of tens of millions of dollars in liability off the table and avoiding the high costs of continued litigation,’ he explained.