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Lobster divers settle lawsuit
by George Wiley
All in all it was an amicable settlement, said Torrance attorney Steve Berman. The City of Redondo Beach agreed to drop charges against his clients, and his clients agreed to drop their lawsuit against the city.
All it took was sitting down with Redondo Fire Chief Pat Aust, Berman said.
By negotiating the settlement, Berman saved his clients what could have been several thousand dollars in fines for poaching lobsters.
Poaching lobsters isn't a way of cooking them, it's taking them illegally out of season. According to Redondo Harbor Patrol, Berman's clients jumped the gun on lobster season in October 1998 when they got a five-minute head start on divers competing for the crustaceans.
Five minutes may not sound like much, but at the beginning of lobster season it can be critical. As the season opens, the lobsters are at rest on the ocean floor and can be grabbed by divers. But as more divers begin scooping them up, the animals quickly become alarmed and flee. It isn't long until there are no more lobsters to be found.
The shellfish dispute began when Mike Curtis, 52, of Huntington Beach allegedly jumped the gun on the 1998 lobster season, due to begin at midnight Oct. 3. A harbor patrol officer was in the water waiting for lobster claim jumpers and reportedly saw Curtis grabbing several lobsters early. He signaled Curtis to swim to the surface, but Curtis allegedly ignored the command. The harbor patrolman attempted to physically apprehend Curtis and in the course of doing that, Curtis had his scuba diver's mask ripped from his face.
Curtis said later he thought the harbor patrolman was another lobster fisherman. There was no insignia to identify the diver as a harbor patrolman said Curtis. In response to his citation, Curtis sued the city. A friend of Curtis, Henry J. Harper, who was also cited, joined Curtis as a client of Berman's.
In the settlement of the ensuing lawsuit, Berman said, Redondo agreed to get "big, bright badges" for harbor patrol divers. The city also agreed not to charge Curtis and Harper. "The charges were dismissed, and Mike and Henry decided not to file any lawsuits," said Berman.ER