Court Rules in Limousine Dispute

Charging that a limousine service is being run out of their neighbor’s home and is driving down the property values on their Calabasas cul-de-sac, seven neighbors won a judgment last week in small claims court.

Sara Hyman, one of the seven neighbors on Park Antigua, said the dispute with Max’s Limousine and Transportation Service has been going on for a year, and, although the city of Calabasas warned homeowner Judy Marino to stop conducting business from the property, she had not complied.

In a judgment Friday in Calabasas Municipal Court, Marino was ordered to stop any business activity at the home by Oct. 31 or she may have to pay each resident $5,000.

“This is a really nice neighborhood, that’s why we were trying to win the money,” Hyman said. “This has devalued our property. I think if she was faced with a $35,000 fine, she’ll take notice. I know I’d take notice.”

Although Marino said the business does not operate at her home--located in an area not zoned for commercial use--she added that she will comply with the order.

“There is not a business here,” she said Tuesday. “There are a couple of cars, but not all the time. But I’ll make sure there aren’t a lot of cars here, ever.”

Neighbors said that Marino and her tenant, David M. Pasarow, use the home as a depot for drivers and the cars available for rent.

Hyman said she has documented a number of cars and drivers, some in uniform, traveling to and from the home, as well as employees washing luxury cars in the street.

Marino said that drivers do pick up Pasarow occasionally, but she said her tenant operates the business out of offices in Laguna Beach and Beverly Hills.

Hyman said that she was dissatisfied with the judgment because she believes it is not strong enough to curb the business activity.