Volleyball Event Opponents Lose Battle Over Legal Fees

A Los Angeles Superior Court judge has ruled that the city of Manhattan Beach will not be liable for $156,000 in legal expenses incurred by an environmental group that sued the city in an attempt to block a volleyball tournament last summer.

Donley Falkenstien, founder of the South Bay Coastal Alliance, sued the city, county and the Assn. of Volleyball Professionals, contending that the Manhattan Beach Open, sponsored by the association, violated a state law that prohibits commercial development on the beach. Tournament promoters planned to erect a stadium on the sand and charge admission to the event.

The legal uncertainty posed by lawsuit led the association to move to tournament to Hermosa Beach and rename the event the Miller Lite/AVP Hermosa Beach Grand Slam. South Bay Coastal Alliance attorney Frank Angel said a judge dismissed the lawsuit in September because the group had achieved success in blocking the event. The group filed a request for attorney fees Nov. 14.

Judge Robert O’Brien ruled this week that the city did not have to pay for the group’s attorney fees because there was not sufficient evidence showing that the public had “benefited significantly” as a result of the lawsuit, according to court documents.

Angel said the group was disappointed by the judge’s decision. He said they plan to continue fighting the tournament in the future.

“Only one chapter has been closed,” Angel said. “Each year there is a new chapter.”

City officials praised the ruling.

“This is terrific, it obviously would have been a pretty big hit if we had to pay $156,000 in this kind of an economic climate,” said Manhattan Beach City Atty. Robert Wadden. “Every dollar counts and we would have had to cutback in services if we had to pay it.”