The Milwaukee Brewers are hosting the Los Angeles Dodgers this week in Wisconsin.
For the Brewers’ owner, a new filing in California Superior Court could have his attention focused in California.
Mark Attanasio, the billionaire owner of the Brewers, owns a beachfront home in Malibu, California. His neighbor, James Kohlberg, has accused him in a lawsuit of stealing sand from Malibu’s Broad Beach in violation of the California Coastal Act.
“This case is about a private property owner using a public beach as their own personal sandbox and the disturbing conversion of a public natural resource (i.e., sand from Broad Beach) for a nearby homeowner’s personal, private use,” the suit claims.
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The suit, filed in Los Angeles County on Aug. 8, alleges that Attanasio hired construction company has been removing sand “for the past several weeks” while Kohlberg filmed the act in progress.
According to the Los Angeles Times, Attanasio has acted in compliance with all of the permits he obtained to repair a damaged section of seawall on his beachfront property in Malibu.
Attanasio’s attorney, Kenneth Ehrlich, told the Times in a statement: “2XMD [Attanasio’s company] is in the midst of a fully-permitted emergency repair of the property to protect it from ocean forces. It has secured all permits necessary for the repairs from the City of Malibu and LA County as well as thoroughly vetted all contractors and sub-contractors involved in the project.”
As much as anything, the lawsuit offers a window into the conflicting priorities among the ultra-rich residents along a sensitive, pricey piece of California coastline. One of them, at least, just happens to own a professional sports franchise 2,000 miles away.
According to the Times’ Jack Flemming,
Over the years, the beach has been battered by violent storms and high tides, leading to significant sand depletion. In 2015, high-profile residents including Dustin Hoffman, Ray Romano and Pierce Brosnan committed to a $31-million restoration project to bolster the beach’s sand.
Among its allegations, the lawsuit claims that Attanasio’s company, 2XMD, used mechanized equipment within a tidal zone protected by the California Coastal Act. The suit claims that the unauthorized construction includes “dredging and removing sand entering the tidal zone, and at times the ocean, with excavators, exposing the ocean water and marine life to potentially hazardous bioproducts.”
The suit also includes a private nuisance complaint that the activity is “indecent and offensive to the senses” — a classic case of “not in my backyard,” if your backyard is the Pacific Ocean.
According to the Times, Attanasio bought his Broad Beach home for $23 million in 2007. A decade later, he purchased a neighboring lot for $6.6 million.
