The lawyer who tackled the infamous localism at Lunada Bay says the lineup is more accessible 10 years after he took the case. Photo: Levin
Kurt Franklin says Southern California residents have told him there are more surfers in the water at Lunada Bay these days. Franklin was one of the plaintiffs that took legal action against the infamous “Bay Boys” at a notorious Los Angeles County surf spot, suing the city of Palos Verdes Estates and 14 surfers for their roles in coordinated, aggressive localism. He believes the case sent a clear message: “The California coast belongs to everyone.” It’s been a decade since he started working on the lawsuit and just 18 months after it finally concluded.
Franklin, a surfer himself who had been bothered by the localism incidents at Lunada Bay, took on the case pro bono in March of 2016 as a way to make the world “more fair” and “accessible,” he wrote. After he and his team’s win, he says that the city of Palos Verdes Estates has been holding up its end of enforcing localism crime and turning the Lunada Bay bluffs into a more public-friendly zone.
“From the reports I’m receiving, the city is taking the claims more seriously now, as they have to,” Franklin told The Inertia over a phone call. “They have to do some reporting when they receive complaints, both to the Coastal Commission and to the city council. So if somebody makes a claim related to surf harassment, it goes up a more delineated chain of command.”
The 2016 case against the surfers that had been using aggressive tactics to keep others out of Lunada Bay went through eight years of legal proceedings between federal, state, and appellate courts. Eventually, the defendants reached agreements with the plaintiffs to stay away from Lunada Bay for one year or pay fines ranging from $30,000 to $90,000, and their “surf fort” on the shore was removed via helicopter. The localism even inspired a Hollywood flick featuring Nicolas Cage.
It’s a legal precedent, Franklin says, that can be used for similar localism issues around the state. It “is an important tool now,” Franklin said. “The gift of the case is the appellate decision says, if you bully somebody, that’s a Coastal Act violation. If you try to keep somebody away, deter somebody from accessing the coast, that’s a Coastal Act violation.”
“On a one-off, (applying the precedent would) probably (be) hard to do, but we uncovered this was coordinated,” Franklin added. “So if you come up with a plan and you try to keep people away from the coast, you put yourself at risk for a Coastal Act claim, and those penalties are draconian.”
Franklin points to an ongoing case of surf violence in Santa Cruz in which a man allegedly stabbed another surfer, as an example of a case to which this precedent could be applied. He also notes that, under the Coastal Act, anyone can file such a claim.
“Bullying somebody works better than a fence,” Franklin said. “I think it does, and the court agreed with us.”
When we last spoke with Franklin in 2024, he said some of the defendants had expressed remorse for their actions during the legal proceedings. But he hasn’t heard any such sentiment from the Bay Boys since, many of whom, he says, are now in their mid-sixties and aging out of the lineup.
Franklin still visits Lunada Bay periodically to see how the city is progressing on its plans to landscape the area — improving the trail, adding signage, and placing rocks for seating. He knows the defendants could recognize him in person, but he’s not afraid.
“I think it’s fallen back to more typical localism that doesn’t cross the line,” he said.
In his reflection on the 10 years of volunteer time that he gave, Franklin encouraged other young lawyers to look for meaning in their work and find room for cases that make a difference in the world.
“Here is a message to lawyers who feel burned out, boxed in, like their work has gotten smaller than they meant it to be, or who no longer ‘like’ the practice of law,” told The Inertia. “Find meaning in your work. Do one thing this year that outlasts you. If you’ve been waiting for the ‘right time’ to take on work that matters, this is a nudge. Pick your thing. Start now. What will you take on that makes the world a little more fair, more open, and more accessible?”
