05-23-2016, 06:19 AM
This is a long and convoluted story which first caught my eye some years ago, in occasional blips I saw in news items about a particularly hostile surf spot in California. The place here is Lunada Bay, and the problem is a beach which is 100% public access by law, but has apparently been anything but that by practice of a local group of residents calling themselves the 'Bay Boys'.
This headline comes as one example from back in January: All eyes on Bay Boys during high surf at Lunada Bay
The abuse, property crime against and outright intimidation of outsiders allegedly goes back 20 years or more. In what has become a very established situation, it appears in stories and surfing reviews next to the details of the unusual surfing conditions as much any other aspect of the location or what makes it special. This is what I've taken from reading reports of the whole thing, over the years.
Now fairly recently in this whole thing, a couple folks wandered down to surf who weren't quite like everyone else.
To give a bit more context from the memory of what I've followed, these folks weren't going down there to create a test case or martyr themselves as "the ones" who wouldn't take anymore. They just wanted to surf...and the local gang did their gang intimidation nonsense on them. As they've allegedly been doing for years.
Source
.........Now so far, we have a local bunch of territorial thugs in what sounds like an outright generational approach to keeping this place to themselves. 20+ years isn't a few guys being jerks...but time for older people to move on, younger locals to join into the tradition and actually establish something with a momentum of its own. We have an off-duty cop and his friend, getting abused ...with the suggestion (and building evidence, apparently) of very systematic abuse of anyone who dare tread on the 'private' ..public beach.
So how is it a little guy thing? Well..... What the guy who is a part of the suit does for a living wouldn't seem to figure in, except to say it probably helped give him a 'I don't THINK so..' attitude about not just taking that kind of abuse. However.....who this is going AFTER is another matter entirely, for how THAT figures in.
Ahhh yes... The Police Chief himself is named as a participant and/or supportive person to the alleged gang here. People who have apparently tried to do anything in the past have met with the kind of indifference to their concerns that one might imagine in a foreign nation you didn't know the language in. Now tho? Hmmm..... Now it seems there are MANY people who may have let it slide ...but never forgot!
Now that must make everyone (on one side) in the lawsuit feel good. It sure confirms they are taking action that represents many many more than they could have known for certain.
Source
This is also what makes it the 'little guy' at the end of it. The first story I quoted from mentions some of the estimates of cost involved, and they are almost amused at presenting how much the "bay boys" will spend to defend this. In personal experience, I can say the numbers I saw in that one weren't too far off as the bare minimums of $10,000 for a simple suit above small claims. The threat of the attorney's on this one, to make it a 7 figure case to defend..sounds perfectly reasonable for something they'll see play out, too.
What makes this special to me though is ....it can and often DOES cost JUST as much to PURSUE the case in the first place. It is why groups like this, and others, tend to get away with things in life ..despite everyone seeing they shouldn't. Someone has to DO something, and see it through ...which means a lot of money.
....Unless a law firm works "Pro Bono", as this indicates is being done. Pro Bono means free. No cost to the plaintiffs. I'd guess there are other agreements in place for how things go on any monetary recoveries, but that also does not seem to be the point or focus of the suit here.
So ... good does still exist out there, and even among that life form we refer to as "Lawyers".
This headline comes as one example from back in January: All eyes on Bay Boys during high surf at Lunada Bay
The abuse, property crime against and outright intimidation of outsiders allegedly goes back 20 years or more. In what has become a very established situation, it appears in stories and surfing reviews next to the details of the unusual surfing conditions as much any other aspect of the location or what makes it special. This is what I've taken from reading reports of the whole thing, over the years.
Now fairly recently in this whole thing, a couple folks wandered down to surf who weren't quite like everyone else.
Quote:The lead plaintiffs are Cory Spencer, an El Segundo Police Officer and surfer, Diana Milena Reed, a Malibu resident and “aspiring big wave surfer.” They both claim that the Bay Boys’ presence has prevented them from surfing the wave, a right that can hold size up to a few times overhead. It’s one of LA’s best, but it’s enjoyed by few non-locals. The Coastal Protection Rangers are also a named plaintiff in the suit, which describes the group as “dedicated to enforcing” the California Coastal Act.
To give a bit more context from the memory of what I've followed, these folks weren't going down there to create a test case or martyr themselves as "the ones" who wouldn't take anymore. They just wanted to surf...and the local gang did their gang intimidation nonsense on them. As they've allegedly been doing for years.
Quote:Reed, the female plaintiff, claims that two of the Bay Boys sprayed her and her camera with beer, and told her she “excited them.” One of them, the suit says, told her his penis would “get the job done” and that another exposed himself to her while he was changing clothes.
The suit mentions the stone fort on the point, a construction that some have alleged violates coastal development rules, and calls out the city for “knowingly maintaining” it.
The complaint ultimately outlines eight separate causes of action, which include assault, battery, civil conspiracy, violation of coastal act, and public nuisance.
Source
.........Now so far, we have a local bunch of territorial thugs in what sounds like an outright generational approach to keeping this place to themselves. 20+ years isn't a few guys being jerks...but time for older people to move on, younger locals to join into the tradition and actually establish something with a momentum of its own. We have an off-duty cop and his friend, getting abused ...with the suggestion (and building evidence, apparently) of very systematic abuse of anyone who dare tread on the 'private' ..public beach.
So how is it a little guy thing? Well..... What the guy who is a part of the suit does for a living wouldn't seem to figure in, except to say it probably helped give him a 'I don't THINK so..' attitude about not just taking that kind of abuse. However.....who this is going AFTER is another matter entirely, for how THAT figures in.
Quote:The class-action suit, filed last week in federal court by surfers Cory Spencer and Diana Milena Reed, names the affluent city, its police chief and eight alleged Bay Boys on behalf of all beachgoers who have been harassed at the Lunada Bay spot known as much for its hostile climate as its ideal break.
Ahhh yes... The Police Chief himself is named as a participant and/or supportive person to the alleged gang here. People who have apparently tried to do anything in the past have met with the kind of indifference to their concerns that one might imagine in a foreign nation you didn't know the language in. Now tho? Hmmm..... Now it seems there are MANY people who may have let it slide ...but never forgot!
Quote:“We’re getting lots of calls from people saying, ‘Hey, that happened to me,’ ” said Kurt Franklin, a lead attorney on the case, who has specialized in class-action civil rights lawsuits for 20 years.
Now that must make everyone (on one side) in the lawsuit feel good. It sure confirms they are taking action that represents many many more than they could have known for certain.
Quote:His Bay Area firm, Hanson Bridgett LLP, has been preparing the suit for months pro bono with Vic Otten, an environmental attorney in Torrance.
Source
This is also what makes it the 'little guy' at the end of it. The first story I quoted from mentions some of the estimates of cost involved, and they are almost amused at presenting how much the "bay boys" will spend to defend this. In personal experience, I can say the numbers I saw in that one weren't too far off as the bare minimums of $10,000 for a simple suit above small claims. The threat of the attorney's on this one, to make it a 7 figure case to defend..sounds perfectly reasonable for something they'll see play out, too.
What makes this special to me though is ....it can and often DOES cost JUST as much to PURSUE the case in the first place. It is why groups like this, and others, tend to get away with things in life ..despite everyone seeing they shouldn't. Someone has to DO something, and see it through ...which means a lot of money.
....Unless a law firm works "Pro Bono", as this indicates is being done. Pro Bono means free. No cost to the plaintiffs. I'd guess there are other agreements in place for how things go on any monetary recoveries, but that also does not seem to be the point or focus of the suit here.
So ... good does still exist out there, and even among that life form we refer to as "Lawyers".