Letter to Editor: Councilmen Defend Settlement

From Hermosa Beach City Councilmen Kit Bobko and Michael DiVirgilio.

Over the past two weeks Hermosa Beach residents have begun digesting news of the Macpherson settlement. Naturally, after nearly 15-years and more than $4 million of no-holds-barred litigation, there are many questions about the details, such as, “Why did this occur so quickly?” or “Why settle now?” or “Why notride out the trial?” We thought it important to answer those questions as best we could, and to quash the rumors and misinformation we’ve heard circulating in the community. While we strive to fill in details and address new questions that develop - we also ask you for patience. We’re not asking that you dismiss your questions or concerns or doubts, but only that you not leap to conclusions before getting all the facts. As part of …

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Bob Atkins

11:38 am on Friday, March 23, 2012

I really don't understand how the royalties that the city earns on any oil revenues are limited to being spent on stuff that is west of mean tide??? What law/agency enforces this absurdity and what can be done to obtain an exception? Royalties should be able to benefit the entire city. That said - if this entire project hadn't been mismanaged by a screwball city council of selfish interests years…   more ›

City: Tattoo Policy Lawsuit Causes of Action Ruled 'Inadequate'

The city attorney sounds off in response to recent ruling in the case.

In a lawsuit over Hermosa Beach's tattoo policy, a recent ruling has found five causes of action against the city to be "legally inadequate," according to a statement from the City Attorney's office. The city announced Tuesday that Los Angeles Superior Court Judge Michael Linfield's ruling addressed the alleged causes of action that a group of Hermosa Beach residents is using to seek money damages. The group now has 30 days to file an amended lawsuit, according to the city. "We do not believe that it is possible for the plaintiff to overcome the legal defects in its lawsuit, and we are hoping that they see that and put an end to this case," said City Attorney Michael Jenkins in the statement. The group, called Citizens United, filed a …

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Tattoo Policy Challenges Dismissed

Then, tattoo artists sue Hermosa Beach for rights to open shop, and win. Now, residents challenge the city's tattoo policy, and some claims get dismissed.

The majority of claims made in a lawsuit against Hermosa Beach, which called for changes in the city’s tattoo policy, have been dismissed, the city announced Tuesday. A group of Hermosa Beach residents called Citizens United argued that the city neglected to give proper notice before deciding how to regulate tattoo parlors in town and challenged the city’s tattoo ordinance. City Council candidate Hany Fangary, who has called for tougher tattoo regulation, was listed on court documents as one of the plaintiff's attorneys. Los Angeles Superior Court Judge James Chalfant on Tuesday dismissed the principle claims in the case. "We are pleased with the court’s decision because now the city enjoys certainty. Tattoo studios are limited to those …

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City Attorney, Macpherson Oil Pre-trial

"Rulings [in pre-trial hearing] do not materially change the scope and direction of the trial or the defenses that the City will present to the jury," according to Hermosa Beach City Attorney.

Tehnicalities behind how evidence will be presented during trial were the main topics of focus during a pre-trial hearing Monday in the 13-year contract dispute between Hermosa Beach and Macpherson Oil Co., according to city officials. As the multimillion-dollar lawsuit will go to trial Jan. 18, a Los Angeles Superior Court judge ruled on pre-trial motions, but none caused significant change, said Hermosa Beach City Attorney Michael Jenkins. This statement from Jenkins was released following the rulings: "Today’s rulings addressed technical legal matters governing the introduction of evidence in the trial. They are subject to change as the case progresses. The judge’s rulings limit in some respects what evidence will be presented to the …

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Macpherson Oil Lawsuit: A Timeline

A pretrial hearing is set for Monday in the 13-year contract dispute between city, oil company.

Thirteen years have gone by and yet the battle has just begun in the multimillion-dollar lawsuit that Macpherson Oil Co. brought against the city of Hermosa Beach over an oil-drilling project. A pretrial hearing has been set for Monday in the case, which will go to trial on Jan. 18. The Santa Monica-based company has alleged that the city violated a 1992 lease agreement to allow the company to drill for oil beneath city property. The lawsuit was filed in 1998. Now lawyers for both the city and Macpherson will prepare arguments as the judge decides what evidence will be allowed during trial—and the details can get complicated. The issue of oil drilling in Hermosa Beach dates back to 1932, when voters passed a ban on all oil and gas …

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Residents Weigh In on the Macpherson Oil Lawsuit

A trial date for the lawsuit, in which the oil company is seeking about $700 million in damages, reignites oil discussions among residents in Hermosa and Santa Monica.

The legal dispute between Santa Monica-based Macpherson Oil Co. and the city has raged on for 13 years. A Los Angeles Superior Court judge determined Tuesday the trial date for Macpherson's lawsuit, slated for Jan. 18, 2012. The oil company is seeking about $700 million in damages, arguing that the city illegally breached a 1992 contract that allowed Macpherson to drill for oil in Hermosa Beach. The city forwent the agreement in 1998, citing compliance of Proposition E, passed in 1995, which bans oil and gas drilling within city limits. Patch caught up with Hermosans and the company's Santa Monica neighbors to hear what they had to say about the latest legal development and oil drilling in general. Editor's Note: The comments made in the …

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Trial Date Set in Macpherson Oil Lawsuit

Next round in the 13-year contract dispute between city, oil company to begin Jan. 18, 2012.

The multimillion-dollar lawsuit that Macpherson Oil Co. brought against the city of Hermosa Beach over an oil-drilling project will go to trial on Jan. 18, 2012, Los Angeles Superior Court Judge Joanne O'Donnell decided in a status conference Tuesday. Macpherson is seeking about $700 million in damages, arguing that the city illegally broke an agreement signed in 1992 to allow the company to drill for oil in Hermosa. Last month, O'Donnell asked lawyers for both sides in the dispute to submit briefs estimating how long a trial would last, she said. Macpherson lawyers indicated that the trial would not extend beyond 20 days, and that it would take additional depositions for company experts discussing damages and geology. Michael Jenkins, the…

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Hermosa Insider

Court Supports City’s Pet Regulations

The ruling favors Hermosa Beach in the great barking dogs case in upholding the city's pet limit, and rightfully so.

Hermosa's decade-long dog dispute has been resolved, according to city officials. A Los Angeles County Superior Court judge upheld a Hermosa-issued citation made to resident Corey Glave for exceeding the city's household pets limit. Glave was issued two citations in December 2008. One was for having four dogs, twice the number the city allows, without permission. And those dogs have been known around town to bark, all the time, at everything. The second citation was in response to the barking noise disturbance. Neighbors had been sending complaints to the city since 1999 about the howling ruckus. Glave later appealed the citations, but a hearing officer ruled in the city's favor. So he then sued the city, arguing that he did have …

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Decision Still Awaits on Tattoo Parlor Location

The council couldn't break a tie vote Tuesday night on which zoning areas in town should house the studios.

As an interim ban on tattoo parlors remains in effect, the City Council was unable Tuesday night to come to a decision on where such businesses will be allowed to operate within Hermosa Beach. The council had three options as to where tattoo and body piercing businesses can open shop—the C3 zone, which encompasses the PCH corridor and Aviation Boulevard; the C2 zone, which is limited to the downtown area, mainly Pier Plaza; or both. The council voted on allowing such businesses to operate in both of these zoning areas during its meeting Tuesday. But with Mayor Peter Tucker on vacation, the vote was 2-2. City Councilmen Kit Bobko and Michael DiVirgilio opposed the idea. "I have indicated that I thought it was appropriate for this type of …

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Joy A. Kennelly

9:40 am on Wednesday, October 13, 2010

I think it's great. Just think of all the new non-criminal traffic it will draw to the city. What they should do is put it on Pier Plaza and allow it to remain open past 2am to catch all the people too drunk to care what their body looks like in the morning. Then, right next to it, allow a tattoo removal shop for when these people go to get jobs, get out of prison and want a fresh start, or want …   more ›

City Adopts Temporary Tattoo Parlor Ban

The City Council voted unanimously on Tuesday to adopt a 45-day ban on tattoo studios until new policy is crafted.

Tattoo studios wanting to open shop in Hermosa Beach have to wait 45 days until the city adopts new policy regulating such businesses. In a swift unanimous vote Tuesday night, City Council adopted the interim ordinance prohibiting tattoo parlors from opening on city property. The temporary ban will "allow the city time to study and adopt new time, place and manner regulations for tattoo studios," said Ken Robertson, the city's Community Development Department director. "It's a result of the decision by the 9th Circuit Court of Appeals," he said at the council meeting. Tattoo artist Johnny Anderson, 33, sued the city after he was denied a permit to open a tattoo studio near PCH and Aviation Boulevard in 2007. For years tattooing has been …

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