A lawsuit against Mark Attanasio claims the billionaire owner of the Milwaukee Brewers has been stealing sand from Malibu’s Broad Beach and carrying it to his home for his personal use on a construction project. According to the Los Angeles Times, Attanasio’s next-door neighbor James Kohlberg — son of global investor Jerome Kohlberg — claims Attanasio has been using excavators on a public natural resource, restricting public access to the beach while also exposing local marine life to the potentially hazardous byproducts of heavy machinery.
According to the lawsuit, Attanasio received permits in March to repair a damaged section of seawall. But in June and July, excavators allegedly began dragging sand from the beach to Attanasio’s private property, leaving gasoline residue in the water and sand in the process. The lawsuit accuses Attanasio of public and private nuisance as well as violation of the California Coastal Act.
“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,” the lawsuit says.
Kenneth Ehrlich, Attanasio’s attorney, claims that his client’s company has acted in 100% compliance with all of its permits from the city of Malibu and L.A. County. Attanasio originally bought his Broad Beach home for $23 million in 2007.
