A Huntington Beach resident is suing to get a copy of the unreleased $5 million settlement between the city and the operator of an annual air show that was canceled by the 2021 oil spill off the coast.
Huntington Beach City Attorney Michael Gates has refused to release the complete settlement, first announced at a news conference on May 9. What’s already known is Huntington Beach will pay at least $5 million to the air show operator to have a lawsuit filed against the city dismissed.
“You’re not supposed to be hiding settlements from the public,” said Gina Clayton-Tarvin, who filed the lawsuit Wednesday, June 7, in Orange County Superior Court. “But apparently that’s how things work in Huntington Beach at the city level.”
Clayton-Tarvin, a Huntington Beach resident and vice president of the Ocean View School District Board of Trustees, said she had asked for a complete copy of the settlement, but Gates gave her only a one-page summary of the agreement.
Gates has maintained that the city is not obligated to release the settlement. He declined to comment on the allegations in the lawsuit because as of Monday afternoon, the city hadn’t been served yet. “We always follow the law,” he added.
The operator of the Pacific Airshow sued Huntington Beach last October for losses it incurred after the third, and final, day of the 2021 airshow was canceled following reports of an oil spill. The oil spill ended up being about 25,000 gallons and closed beaches and fishing along much of the Orange County coast for weeks.
The company argued that the city didn’t follow proper protocols in canceling the event. The lawsuit won’t be dismissed until the city sends the first payment of $1.9 million by the end of July.
Clayton-Tarvin asked on May 11 for a complete copy of the settlement, according to documents included with the lawsuit. Gates replied to her request 10 minutes later with the one-page summary of the settlement.
She again requested a complete copy and a city staffer responded with a list of reasons why the city couldn’t fulfill her request. One reason the city staffer gave was that maintaining the agreement’s confidentiality outweighed the public interest in disclosing it.
Gates said the current lawsuit with the Pacific Airshow and potential future litigation involving the 2021 oil spill also prevent the release of the settlement.
Huntington Beach could pay an additional $2 million more to the Pacific Airshow from any related funds the city recovers in its lawsuit against Amplify Energy Corp., the company that owns the pipeline that leaked. The city also agreed to relinquish some past fees and credit the airshow for some costs for 2023’s event, which is scheduled to start on Sept. 29.
