A photo from the filed complaint, allegedly showing an excavator removing sand from Malibu’s Broad Beach for use in private construction. Photo: Court Documents
A spat between two ultra-wealthy Malibu neighbors has spilled into the courts. In a lawsuit filed last week, Mark Attanasio, billionaire businessman and owner of the Milwaukee Brewers baseball team, was accused by his neighbor of stealing sand from Malibu’s Broad Beach for use in a construction project at his home.
“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,” begins the complaint brought by James Kohlberg, son of leveraged-buyout industry pioneer Jerry Kohlberg. In it, he accuses two of Attanasio’s companies, 2XMD Partners and JILK Heavy Construction, of using excavators to dig up sand from Broad Beach for use in home renovations.
“Defendants operate enormous excavators in tidal zones in the ocean, dragging along any materials, oils, and other pollutants the excavators carry or discharge,” continues the suit. “Such operations necessarily expose local marine life to potentially hazardous biproducts. More tangibly, Defendants use these same excavators in tidal zones to scoop significant amounts of sand from Broad Beach, a beach with historic concerns of sand depletion, only to be placed on one of the Defendants’ private properties.”
According to the L.A. Times, Attanasio bought the home in question for $23 million in 2007, followed by the neighboring empty lot for $6.6 million in 2017. He obtained permits to repair a damaged section of seawall in March and it was during construction in June and July that the alleged damage took place.
Attanasio’s attorney, Kenneth Ehrlich, responded that his client has acted in total compliance with the permits, writing in a statement that, “2XMD 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 L.A. County as well as thoroughly vetted all contractors and sub-contractors involved in the project.”
Still, if Kohlberg is successful, it would put an end to Attanasio’s efforts. Not only that, but the suit seeks to also require Attanasio to replace the stolen sand and be issued fines for the transgression.
