Lunada Bay Boys Surfers Are Criminal Street Gang, Class Action Says

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A class action lawsuit has been filed against a group of surfers known as the Lunada Bay Boys over the violence and intimidation tactics they allegedly use to protect their surf spot along the coast in Palos Verdes Estates from outsiders.

According to the Palos Verdes Estates class action lawsuit, the Lunada Bay Boys constitute a criminal street gang under California law because they are connected by a common name or symbol and the members engage in a pattern of criminal gang activity including assault, battery, extortion, harassment, intimidation and vandalism.

The class action lawsuit alleges that members of the Lunada Bay Boys coordinate attacks on non-locals by using walkie talkies, text messages, email and cell phones. The Lunada Bay Boys class action lawsuit also names the City of Palos Verdes Estates and its police chief as defendants in the class action lawsuit.

“Beyond its beauty, Lunada Bay is Southern California’s premier big-wave break,” the Lunada Bay class action lawsuit alleges. “It is also the State’s, and perhaps the surfing world’s, best-known area for localism[,] … a territorial practice whereby resident surfers attempt to exclude nonresident beachgoers and surfers through threats, intimidation, and violence.”

“But the police department of Palo Verdes Estates has a long history of deliberate indifference in not investigating or otherwise policing acts of violence and vandalism against visiting beachgoers,” the Lunada Bay Boys class action lawsuit states. “The response is always the same: City leaders acknowledge the problem, promise to do something, and then do little or nothing.”

Plaintiff Cory Spencer is an El Segundo police officer who claims he has been harassed by the Lunada Bay Boys. He states that the problem has been going on since the early 1970s, but nothing has been done to protect non-local beachgoers from the dangerous actions of the Lunada Bay Boys gang. Spencer alleges that the 40-member Palos Verdes Estates police force is designed to protect the area for locals only, and that it considers non-residents “riffraff.”

Spencer says he previously worked as a police officer in “gang-infested neighborhoods in the toughest parts of Los Angeles,” but even though he has wanted to surf Lunada Bay for more than 30 years, he has avoided the area because of the area’s reputation for violence and localism.

In January 2016, Spencer says he “worked up his courage” to surf Lunada Bay. He says he was verbally harassed by members of the Lunada Bay Boys, and that one member intentionally ran over him with a surfboard and sliced Spencer’s hand open. According to the Lunada Bay class action lawsuit, he has witnessed the Bay Boys threaten and taunt other surfers. He says he has complained to the Palos Verdes Estates police officers and to the chief of police but no action has been taken.

Plaintiff Diana Milena Reed also says she experienced intimidation and threats when she attempted to surf at Lunada Bay. According to the California surfing class action lawsuit, she was frightened by the behavior of the Lunada Bay Boys and feared that she would be assaulted. She says that Palos Verdes Estates police officers witnessed the harassment but failed to offer any assistance.

She returned to Lunada Bay with a reporter and photographer from The Los Angeles Times, which published an article reporting about the Bay Boys’ reputation for violence and harassment against outsiders. After the article was published, she was allegedly subjected to more threats and violence by the Bay Boys because of the unwanted attention the article brought them.

Spencer and Reed estimate that hundreds of beachgoers have attempted to enjoy Lunada Bay but were subjected to similar harassment by the Bay Boys. They claim that many thousands of beachgoers wish to visit the area but are afraid to do so because of the Bay Boys’ reputation.

The Lunada Bay class action lawsuit seeks an injunction requiring the city to investigate and prosecute crimes committed by the Lunada Bay Boys.

The plaintiffs are represented by Kurt A. Franklin, Tyson Shower, Samantha Wolff and Caroline Lee of Hanson Bridgett LLP and Victor Otten and Kavita Tekchandani of Otten Law PC.

The Lunada Bay Boys Surf Gang Class Action Lawsuit is Cory Spencer, et al. v. Lunada Bay Boys, et al., Case No. 2:16-cv-02129, in the U.S. District Court for the Central District of California, Western Division.