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Late last week we were notified that the Judge in our proceedings did not change his tentative ruling and he granted the Dana Point Harbor Partners their Motion for Summary Judgement. We want to ensure you heard this news from us, but we also didn’t want to put a damper on your 4th of July celebration. We hope all Dana Point Boaters celebrated big and enjoyed the day on your boat with family and friends. Nothing is more special than seeing the fireworks from your boat on the water!
In light of the Superior Court Judge’s recent decision to uphold his previous ruling granting Summary Judgement to the Dana Point Harbor Partners, the boaters’ Class Action attorneys are considering an Appeal to the District Court of Appeals.
We are at a pivotal moment. The previous Judge handling this case, Judge Sanders, ruled back in 2021, that boaters were Third Party Beneficiaries who had the standing to sue to challenge the unconscionable slip rate increase. After a year and a half of discovery and preparation for trial, Judge Sanders retired, and the new Judge, Lon Hurwitz, changed Judge Sanders' ruling and ruled boaters have no standing to sue. All the attorneys representing the boaters respectfully disagree and believe this was wrongly decided and would produce a dangerous precedent.
Since the marina was built for boaters, is a public asset and not private property, and the bulk of revenue from the marina comes from boaters, it is difficult to conceive how boaters would not be interested parties with the right to enforce contract provisions intended to protect those boaters. The attorneys believe the Court of Appeals will closely scrutinize this misguided legal ruling.
If an appeal is to be filed, we need the assistance of the boating community to protect boaters’ rights. Tom Paine wrote that in times of crisis, the “sunshine patriot will shrink from service” but those who stand up will “deserve the thanks of man and woman.” We know many have become discouraged by the difficulties and delays of this endeavor. Your support is needed now more than ever.
Yes, this is an obstacle, but obstacles are opportunities for being and doing better. An obstacle that is embraced is no longer an obstacle. So, let’s decide together, as Dana Point Boaters, that if the appeal of this ruling is filed, we are all in this together, and we will resoundingly support the effort!
Click here for a link to the Judge’s ruling.
#dpboaters
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