High-Profile Legal Feud Over Noise Ends Quietly
The upscale Four Seasons Hotel on Wednesday dropped a noise lawsuit against its hip neighbor, Twin Palms restaurant, ending an unusual public feud between two of the city’s ritziest businesses.
Since the lawsuit was filed in April, the open-air restaurant has taken several steps to muffle the music from its late-night bands, Four Seasons general manager Mehdi Eftekari said.
“We feel with the steps Twin Palms has taken to solve the problem, it will solve our problem, so hopefully our guests can sleep at night,” he said.
Dennis H. Constanzo, Twin Palms’ president, said the lawsuit tarnished the image of the 7-month-old restaurant, which is partly owned by Cindy Costner, Kevin Costner’s ex-wife.
“People think it’s all about rowdy behavior that never existed,” Constanzo said. “This is a restaurant. It has always been in compliance with every requirement and now has proven it through winning this lawsuit.”
According to the suit, the live weekend entertainment damaged Four Seasons’ reputation as a peaceful five-star resort.
More than 175 guests complained about the noise, forcing the hotel to move several of them to quieter, complimentary rooms in the middle of the night, the lawsuit alleged.
Four Seasons had requested a preliminary injunction in Orange County Superior Court, ordering Twin Palms to turn down the volume or “unplug the amplifiers” from 10 p.m. to 2 a.m.
Twin Palms countered that the restaurant’s decibel readings meet city and business permit regulations, according to reports by sound experts.
After the lawsuit was filed, Twin Palms voluntarily installed two 500-pound curtains made of lead to help muffle the sound, repositioned speakers and added a Plexiglas noise-deflecting drum screen on the bandstand.
“The noise problem has cut down tremendously,” Eftekari said.
Twin Palms is just 600 feet away from the Four Seasons; both are tenants of the Irvine Co.’s Newport Center complex at Fashion Island.
A clerk for Judge Jack K. Mandel, before whom the matter was pending, confirmed that the litigation had been dropped.
