The beaches of California are public, but on the sands of Malibu, a billionaire was accused of having stolen a slice of paradise – or at least a few bursts of it – for itself.
A trial Deposed last week alleges that Mark Attanasio, billionaire businessman and owner of the Brewers Milwaukee Baseball team, used excavators to dig up Broad Beach sand and bring him home as part of a current construction project.
“This case concerns a private owner of private property using a public beach like its own personal sandbox and the disturbing conversion of a natural public resource (that is to say Broad Beach sand) for personal and private use of a nearby owner,” says the trial.
The trial was filed by the neighbor of Attanasio, James Kohlberg, son of Jerome Kohlberg, who founded the world investment company Kohlberg Kravis Roberts & Co.
Kohlberg lawyers accuse the Attanasio construction team, Jilk Heavy Construction, to operate huge excavators in the tidal areas, to flee oils and to expose local marine life to potentially dangerous by-products. The pursuit alleges that the construction has restricted public access to the entire beach.
Attanasio bought the Broad Beach Home for $ 23 million in 2007. A decade later, he picked up the neighboring property, an empty lot, for $ 6.6 million.
Mark Attanasio bought this Malibu package for $ 6.6 million in 2017 but never developed it.
(Mac Hayward)
In March, the owner of the Brewers obtained permits to repair a damaged section of the dike, according to the trial. In June and July, the excavators would have started dragging sand from the beach on its private property and also left petrol residues in water and sand.
Attanasio's lawyer Kenneth Ehrlich said that his client’s company, 2xmd Partners LLC, acted 100% of all of his permits.
“2xmd is in the midst of an emergency repair fully allowed from the property to protect it from the ocean forces. He obtained all the permits necessary for the repairs of the City of Malibu and the county of the as well as all the entrepreneurs and subcontractors involved in the project,” Ehrlich wrote in a press release.
The trial, which accuses Attanasio of public nuisance, private nuisance and violation of the California Coastal Actcalls for a stop to construction, so that the sand is replaced and the fines are issued.
The stretch of contested sand is just east of Lechuza Point on Broad Beach, a hyper-exclusive enclave where celebrities and business magnates spend tens of millions of dollars for houses directly on water.
Over the years, the beach has been beaten by violent storms and high tides, leading to a significant exhaustion of the sand. In 2015, high -level residents, including Dustin Hoffman, Ray Romano and Pierce Brosnan engaged in a restoration project of $ 31 million To strengthen the sand of the beach.
In recent decades, Malibu has become one of the most expensive pockets in the country. Earlier this year, the founder of Oakley James Jannard Sold his house there For $ 210 million – the sale of the most expensive houses in the history of California.
Meanwhile, while the larger and larger ultra-rich houses in the rugged mountains of Malibu and along the coveted beaches, the community has become the centerpiece of a debate on Development vs preservation And the role of government in maintaining California's natural beauty.
