Tag Archives: Cory Spencer v. Lunada Bay Boys

Cory Spencer v. Lunada Bay Boys

Best Excuse Ever For Not Complying With Discovery Order: Lunada Bay Boy Defendant Michael Papayans Can’t Hand Over His Cell Phone Cause The LAPD Confiscated It When They Arrested Him In 2016 For Beating Up A Mets Fan At Dodger Stadium Cause His Mom Told Him To. All Parties To Case Ask Judge Rozella Oliver To Order LAPD To Lend It To Them For A Few Days For Analysis

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For background take a look at this excellent article from the Times on this lawsuit. Also see here to download all pleadings in this case.

Ah, goodness, how can this case get any weirder? Well, here’s today’s episode. The parties filed this joint stipulation asking the Honorable Rozella Oliver to order the LAPD to lend them defendant Michael Papayans’ cell phone so that the plaintiffs can carry out a forensic analysis as part of the discovery process. And the request is uncontroversial from all sides, since the LAPD told the parties that they’d be happy to hand it over in response to an order from the court. So I’m expecting an actual order soonest.

But the rest of the story is pretty interesting. It seems that Michael Papayans isn’t just a localist surf-thug, he’s a multitalented all-round generic thug as well. You see, the LAPD has the phone because Michael Papayans was arrested in 2016 for helping his mom beat up a Mets fan in the parking lot of Dodger Stadium.1 And evidently even this isn’t the limit of the guy’s thuggery…
Continue reading Best Excuse Ever For Not Complying With Discovery Order: Lunada Bay Boy Defendant Michael Papayans Can’t Hand Over His Cell Phone Cause The LAPD Confiscated It When They Arrested Him In 2016 For Beating Up A Mets Fan At Dodger Stadium Cause His Mom Told Him To. All Parties To Case Ask Judge Rozella Oliver To Order LAPD To Lend It To Them For A Few Days For Analysis →

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Cory Spencer v. Lunada Bay Boys

Jalian Johnston Deposition Rescheduled For July 28, No Sanctions Just Now Says Magistrate Judge Rozella Oliver Cause He Appears To Have Tried His Best

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For background take a look at this excellent article from the Times on this lawsuit. Also see here to download all pleadings in this case.

The week of arguing over Jalian Johnston’s deposition in the Lunada Bay Boys case seems finally to be over!2 This afternoon the Honorable Rozella Oliver filed a minute order essentially accepting Jalian Johnston’s version of things. The order schedules his depo for July 28, refuses to sanction Jalian, and makes a few concessions to the plaintiffs to make up for the late deposition. You can read a transcription after the break.
Continue reading Jalian Johnston Deposition Rescheduled For July 28, No Sanctions Just Now Says Magistrate Judge Rozella Oliver Cause He Appears To Have Tried His Best →

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Cory Spencer v. Lunada Bay Boys

Jalian Johnston’s Attorneys File Brief On Why He Hasn’t Scheduled His Damn Depo Which, You Won’t Be Surprised To Hear, Is Not His Fault. Meanwhile, Chant Down Babylon, Bruh!

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For background take a look at this excellent article from the Times on this lawsuit. Also see here to download all pleadings in this case.

So this has been the week of the Lunada Bay Boys parties fighting over scheduling Jalian Johnston’s deposition. On Monday the judge told them to stop taking the piss and get a depo on the calendar or else write some briefs explaining why they can’t get it together. Then yesterday the plaintiffs filed a brief explaining that they tried and tried and Jalian Johnston just wouldn’t cooperate which, if you look at every photo ever taken of the guy, seems prima facie pretty plausible.

And now today Jalian Johnston himself filed a brief (transcription after the break) stating that he tried but the plaintiffs fooled around and fooled around and then he just had to book, brah, and he’s sorry, but he can do it July 28, so no need for sanctions.

And, you know, who knows who’s telling the truth? At this point it hardly matters given how overpowering our urge to mock Jalian Johnston has become. And, it turns out, we are not the only ones. Just look at this little gem right here:
Continue reading Jalian Johnston’s Attorneys File Brief On Why He Hasn’t Scheduled His Damn Depo Which, You Won’t Be Surprised To Hear, Is Not His Fault. Meanwhile, Chant Down Babylon, Bruh! →

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Cory Spencer v. Lunada Bay Boys

New Brief Filed By Lunada Bay Boys Plaintiffs: Basis Of Jalian Johnston Deposition Scheduling Freakout Is That He’s Too Busy With Work To Be Deposed Until August, Depo Properly Noticed And Scheduled By Plaintiffs For June 30 Anyway, Judge Oliver Asked To Sanction Jalian Johnston If He Doesn’t Show Up

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For background take a look at this excellent article from the Times on this lawsuit. Also see here to download all pleadings in this case.

Perhaps you remember that just a couple days ago the Honorable Rozella Oliver, magistrate judge in the Lunada Bay Boys surf thuggery case, told the parties to quit their damnable antics and get defendant Jalian “Alan” Johnston’s deposition scheduled. At that time, she also told the parties that they’d better get together once more and try to figure this out on their own.3

Well, they met yesterday, and nothing got settled, so today plaintiffs’ counsel Lisa Pooley filed a letter brief with the court (transcription after the break, as always), explaining why they have been unable to schedule dude’s depo. It seems that, despite his intensely projected workshy go-with-flow SoCal surflospher image, Jalian Johnston is working too much to allow him to schedule a deposition.4

After weeks of back and forth, the plaintiffs have thrown their hands up in despair and asked the judge to impose sanctions if Jalian Johnston doesn’t make it to his properly noticed and scheduled deposition on Friday, June 30. You can read the painful details in the transcription after the break, but it’s much too stupid for me to summarize for you.
Continue reading New Brief Filed By Lunada Bay Boys Plaintiffs: Basis Of Jalian Johnston Deposition Scheduling Freakout Is That He’s Too Busy With Work To Be Deposed Until August, Depo Properly Noticed And Scheduled By Plaintiffs For June 30 Anyway, Judge Oliver Asked To Sanction Jalian Johnston If He Doesn’t Show Up →

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Cory Spencer v. Lunada Bay Boys

Lunada Bay Boys Parties Still Getting Fussy Over Scheduling Of Jalian Johnston Deposition, Magistrate Judge Oliver Says Work It Out By This Friday Or Else Write “I Will Not Be An Asshole” 5000 Times On The Board Everybody Has To File Five Page Briefs Explaining Why They Can’t Schedule The Damn Depo Like Grownups

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For background take a look at this excellent article from the Times on this lawsuit. Also see here to download all pleadings in this case.

Recall that as of ten days ago the parties in the Lunada Bay Boys surf-thuggery case found themselves unable to schedule defendant Alan “Jalian” Johnston’s deposition. Well, this afternoon, Magistrate Judge Rozella Oliver filed a minute order reporting that they still have not been able to schedule the deposition (as always, there’s a transcription after the break). Furthermore, she orders them to get their damn act together and have it scheduled by Friday, June 30 or else everyone has to write five page briefs explaining what they did to try to come to terms with one another. This is, I think, the judicial equivalent of the babies getting fussy and scratching at themselves until mom makes them put their mittens on.

Jalian Johnston, of course, is more than just a non-member of the County’s most famous nonexistent surf local nongang. He is also a make-believe poor boy who “likes to live as if he were penniless,” and, additionally, a dedicated crafter who sells his world-famous crafts at local souvenir shops. He is also the proud possessor of a Zonker-Harris-esque surflosophy, proudly propounded in that linked-to article which, also interestingly, turns out to essentially subvert a crucial element of the defense of the case:
Continue reading Lunada Bay Boys Parties Still Getting Fussy Over Scheduling Of Jalian Johnston Deposition, Magistrate Judge Oliver Says Work It Out By This Friday Or Else Write “I Will Not Be An Asshole” 5000 Times On The Board Everybody Has To File Five Page Briefs Explaining Why They Can’t Schedule The Damn Depo Like Grownups →

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Cory Spencer v. Lunada Bay Boys

City Of Palos Verdes Estates Shortcircuits Ongoing Discovery Dispute By Just Handing Over The Damn Private Investigator’s Report On How The Undercover Sting Operation Got Blown, But The Squabbles Never Cease And Now They Are Fighting Over Scheduling Defendant Alan Johnston’s Deposition!

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Jeff Kepley is sworn in as new police chief of Palos Verdes Estates, CA. The ceremony for Chief Kepley, who was joined by family, friends, council members from PVE, and many police from various cities, took place at the La Venta Inn, located in Palos Verdes Estates.
For background take a look at this excellent article from the Times on this lawsuit. Also see here to download all pleadings in this case.

A few days ago I wrote about a telephonic conference between the Lunada Bay Boys case plaintiffs and the City defendants5 before magistrate judge Rozella Oliver. They were fighting over a report submitted by a private eye hired by the City to figure out who blew a planned sting operation against the Bay Boys’ surf thuggery.

At that time Judge Oliver ordered the parties to brief her thoroughly on the matter. Well, it seems that the City decided to just hand over the report rather than fight about it any more. Hence they all filed a joint stipulation asking the judge not to make them write the briefs any more. You’ll find a transcription of the stipulation after the break. It’s not by any means clear that we’ll be able to get our hands on the report itself, although often discovery material turns up in the exhibits to later motions, so maybe we will.

However, all is not peaceful on the PVP!6 Evidently the parties had another telephone call with Judge Oliver yesterday in which they had to admit that they couldn’t agree on how to schedule defendant Alan Johnston’s deposition. She told them more or less to work it out amongst themselves or everyone would have to have another damn phone call. Here’s a link to the minute order summarizing the call, and a transcription of this one is also available after the break.
Continue reading City Of Palos Verdes Estates Shortcircuits Ongoing Discovery Dispute By Just Handing Over The Damn Private Investigator’s Report On How The Undercover Sting Operation Got Blown, But The Squabbles Never Cease And Now They Are Fighting Over Scheduling Defendant Alan Johnston’s Deposition! →

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Cory Spencer v. Lunada Bay Boys

Magistrate Judge Rozella Oliver To Lunada Bay Boys Plaintiffs And Defendant Brant Blakeman Re Discovery Matters: You Are The Grownups In The Room So Start Acting Like It Or We’re Just Gonna Have To Have Another Damn Phone Call!

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Earlier today Magistrate Judge Rozella Oliver held a telephonic conference with attorneys for the Lunada Bay Boys plaintiffs and also defendant Brant Blakeman. They’re evidently still squabbling over discovery matters. This may be the same dispute I wrote about in January or it may be something else. It has to do, though, with Blakeman claiming that the plaintiffs’ responses to his supplemental interrogatories were inadequate. It’s possible that this disagreement is the one described in these two docket items:

Here is a copy of Rozella Oliver’s order and also there’s a transcription after the break.
Continue reading Magistrate Judge Rozella Oliver To Lunada Bay Boys Plaintiffs And Defendant Brant Blakeman Re Discovery Matters: You Are The Grownups In The Room So Start Acting Like It Or We’re Just Gonna Have To Have Another Damn Phone Call! →

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Cory Spencer v. Lunada Bay Boys

Magistrate Judge Rozella Oliver Orders Further Briefing From Parties On Question Of Whether Lunada Bay Boys Case Plaintiffs Can Get Their Hands On Investigative Report About PVE Police Leak Of Undercover Anti-Bay-Boys Sting Op

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For background take a look at this excellent article from the Times on this lawsuit. Also see here to download all pleadings in this case.

You might recall that in early 2016 the Palos Verdes Estates Police Department organized a sting operation to catch zillionaire surf thugs the Lunada Bay Boys in the midst of their zillionaire surf thuggery but someone tipped off the Bay Boys, no doubt because they’re not just all sleeping with each others’ spouses up there on The Hill, they also all grew up together like a bunch of hillbillies in a holler and they operate on a need-to-know basis but they have their own ideas of who needs to know what.

In any case, PVE Chief of Police Jeff Kepley hired an outside investigator to find out what had gone wrong, and the plaintiffs in the case want a copy of the report via discovery. The City of PVE and Jeff Kepley are claiming that the report is privileged under the Work Product Doctrine. So they all had a phone conversation with Magistrate Judge Rozella Oliver, and the Judge filed these minutes of the discussion and ordered everyone to submit further briefing by July 6. And if you hate PDFs, turn the page for a transcription of the whole order.
Continue reading Magistrate Judge Rozella Oliver Orders Further Briefing From Parties On Question Of Whether Lunada Bay Boys Case Plaintiffs Can Get Their Hands On Investigative Report About PVE Police Leak Of Undercover Anti-Bay-Boys Sting Op →

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Cory Spencer v. Lunada Bay Boys

Taking It To The Fricking Ninth Circuit: In Petition Filed Today Lunada Bay Boys Plaintiffs Ask Permission To Appeal Denial Of Class Certification! Judge Otero’s Many Manifest Errors Enumerated!! The Argument In One Sentence: “Absent an appeal, anarchy remains.”

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… by making multiple manifest legal errors … the District Court denied Petitioners’ motion for class certification.
A little more than two weeks ago, federal district court judge James Otero denied class certification in the Lunada Bay Boys case, turning it into a merely personal dispute between a bunch of thuggish zillionaire surf-localist gangbangers and the few surfers brave enough to put their names on the case. Today, the plaintiffs filed a petition with the Ninth Circuit Court of Appeals asking for permission to appeal Otero’s decision immediately, rather than, I guess, waiting until the whole case is done, which is probably the more normal time to appeal. This is a so-called interlocutory appeal, in other words, which is made before the case which gives rise to it is settled. Obviously it would cause chaos if lawyers were allowed to appeal every random decision a lower court judge made while the actual case was proceeding, which is probably why it’s necessary to (a) ask the Ninth Circuit for permission to appeal and (b) to argue that the case will suffer “irreparable harm” if the appeal of the given order, in this case denial of class certification, isn’t allowed to proceed while the underlying case is ongoing. The basic argument seems to be this:

Californians have a constitutional right to access their public beaches. Accordingly, Petitioners ask this Court for the opportunity to appeal now, so that their motion for class certification can be given proper consideration under the correct interpretation of rule 23. As this Court has recognized, there is no reason for a plaintiff to litigate to finality “when a certification decision is erroneous and inevitably will be overturned.”

Most of this petition is far too technical for any discourse that I might construct upon it to be profitable for anyone, but the introduction is quite comprehensible and quite stirring. Turn the page to read that. Also, it’s worth reading the summary of the many points where Otero seemingly ignored the expertise of the plaintiffs’ witnesses, but I’m not reproducing that for technical reasons. You can find it, along with the nitty gritty technical nerdview, by reading the petition your own self, friend!
Continue reading Taking It To The Fricking Ninth Circuit: In Petition Filed Today Lunada Bay Boys Plaintiffs Ask Permission To Appeal Denial Of Class Certification! Judge Otero’s Many Manifest Errors Enumerated!! The Argument In One Sentence: “Absent an appeal, anarchy remains.” →

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Cory Spencer v. Lunada Bay Boys

Lunada Bay Boys Lawsuit Will Not Be A Class Action! Judge Otero Files Order Denying Motion For Class Certification. But, Says Otero, The Experts Are Mostly But Not Totally Expert Enough!

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Pretty, pretty Palos Verdes…but no class at all!
For background take a look at this excellent article from the Times on this lawsuit. Also see here to download all pleadings in this case.

Perhaps you recall that yesterday’s scheduled hearing on the plaintiffs’ motion to have their lawsuit against the putative Lunada Bay Boys certified as a class action was cancelled by the Judge on the grounds that he would be able to rule without hearing oral arguments. Well, this morning his order denying class certification hit PACER. I can tell you right now that his reasoning with respect to the conclusion that this case cannot proceed as a class action is completely beyond my ability to interpret sensibly, so you’ll have to figure that part of it out yourself.

The introduction to the order strikes me as pretty skeptical of the plaintiffs’ claims generally, and even a little sarcastic. For instance, in what must be for the plaintiffs a particularly disconcerting example of judicial humor, Otero begins his summary of the facts with the following pun: “Riding the wave of the Point Break remake, Plaintiffs initiated this putative class action lawsuit…” It can’t be pleasant to read insinuations from the judge that one’s lawsuit was essentially a movie tie-in! There are excerpts after the break.

Otero also responded to ongoing debate over plaintiffs’ expert witnesses by saying that the economist Philip King is certainly expert enough, but that his method of arriving at an estimate of $50,000,000 in damages is nonsense.7 It seems to be that King will be allowed to testify but not testify to damages. Also, Otero says that the plaintiffs’ other expert, Peter Neushul,8 is certainly expert enough to testify about surfing in Southern California. Anyway, after the break, find some excerpts from the less technical parts of the order.
Continue reading Lunada Bay Boys Lawsuit Will Not Be A Class Action! Judge Otero Files Order Denying Motion For Class Certification. But, Says Otero, The Experts Are Mostly But Not Totally Expert Enough! →

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