Crying Over Spilt Oil

A California judge has denied two emergency requests pertaining to Huntington Beach’s near $5-million settlement with the operator of its annual air-show over the cancellation of the 2021 event’s final day on account of an oil spill. One request sought to prevent the city from paying out the settlement, while the second attempted to make public a full and detailed accounting of the settlement.

Huntington Beach Attorney Michael Gates stated on Friday, 30 June, that Orange County Superior Court Judge Michael Strickroth had denied both emergency requests. Ergo, the matters will go before Judge Martha Gooding on 17 July.

The settlement between Huntington Beach and Pacific Airshow LLC was announced in May, 2023 and stipulated the city would pay the air-show operator nearly $5-million. Huntington Beach stands to pay $2-million more should the city recover additional monies through its lawsuit against Amplify Energy Corp., owner of the pipeline that leaked in 2021, thereby forcing the cancellation of the final day of that year’s Huntington Beach air-show.

Mr. Gates remarked: “I think Judge Strickroth got it right. There’s absolutely no urgency on any of this.”

The petition to block the settlement was filed by former Huntington Beach Mayor Connie Boardman and former city Planning Commissioner Mark Bixby.

The subsequent petition for full disclosure of the Huntington Beach- Pacific Airshow LLC settlement was filed by Huntington Beach resident and former City Council candidate Gina Clayton-Tarvin.

Mr. Gates opined: “His [Judge Strickroth’s] dismissal of the demands by Clayton-Tarvin, Boardman, and Bixby speaks to the merits of their claims. If their claims were compelling, the judge’s ruling might have been different.”

According to a summary of the settlement agreement, Pacific Airshow LLC must receive an initial payment of $1.9-million from Huntington Beach by 31 July. Should Judge Gooding rule in the city’s favor, however, any made payments could be retrieved.

Plaintiffs’ (Boardman and Bixby’s) attorney Lee Fink set forth he remains optimistic about the outcome of the 17 July hearing insomuch as the judge refrained from dismissing his clients’ case outright.

Mr. Fink posited:  “So the fact he’s put it over is a telltale sign that our application is good."

In addition to the Huntington Beach air-show, Pacific Airshow LLC stages a similar event on Queensland, Australia’s famed Gold Coast.

FMI: www.pacificairshow.com