MLB owner sued for stealing sand from Malibu beach
Mark Attanasio claims he is simply having a damaged section of his home's seawall fixed.
{{#rendered}} {{/rendered}}A lawsuit against Milwaukee Brewers billionaire owner Mark Attanasio claims he's been stealing sand from Malibu's Broad Beach and carrying it to his home for his personal use on a construction project, according to documents obtained by The Los Angeles Times.
The lawsuit was filed by Attanasio's next-door neighbor James Kohlberg and claims the Brewers owner 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, causing public and private nuisance as well as violating the California Coastal Act.
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{{#rendered}} {{/rendered}}Milwaukee Brewers' Rhys Hoskins yells toward New York Mets' Jeff McNeil as benches cleared during the eighth inning of a baseball game Friday, March 29, 2024, in New York (AP Photo/Frank Franklin II)
"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.
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The lawsuit also says the plaintiff has "suffered personal harm, including having depleted sand next to, and in front of, its own property and has been exposed to gasoline oil on the beach and in the water in front of Plaintiff's property."
{{#rendered}} {{/rendered}}The plaintiff is asking the court to order the defendant to return all the sand taken from Broad Beach, repair any damages, and pay fines.
Mark Attanasio owner of the Milwaukee Brewers during the Ryan Braun Walk of Fame Ceremony at American Family Field on July 28, 2024 in Milwaukee, Wisconsin. (John Fisher/Getty Images)
Meanwhile, Attanasio's attorney Kenneth Ehrlich claims his client's company has acted in compliance with all of its permits from the city of Malibu and L.A. County. Attanasio claims he is having a damaged section of his home's seawall fixed and argues he has all the proper permits.
Attanasio originally bought his Broad Beach home for $23 million in 2007 and later bought the empty lot next door for $6.6 million.
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Attanasio, a Tenafly, New Jersey native, bought the Brewers in 2005 for $223 million. Under his ownership, the team has made the playoffs seven times since then, but has never advanced past the NLCS into the World Series. The closest they came to making it was in 2018, when they lost to the Dodgers in the NLCS in seven games.
This year, the Brewers are sitting comfortably in first place in the NL at 67-52 and hold a 7.5-game lead over the second-place St. Louis Cardinals.
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