Chris Miller settles lawsuit with Hermosa Beach
Residents celebrate the defeat of Measure O at the Standing Room. File photo Anti-oil activist Chris Miller has settled her lawsuit with the city of Hermosa Beach and others, bringing an end to more than a year of legal wrangling, and closing a wound left by the battle over oil drilling in the city’s tidelands. Miller filed a lawsuit in federal court last October naming the city, Police Chief Sharon Papa, HBPD Officer George Brunn, the Chamber of Commerce and Visitor’s Bureau, and former chamber president Ken Hartley. According to a copy of the settlement agreement with the city, Hermosa will implement a variety of administrative reforms, including the re-hiring of an independent auditor to examine progress made by the Hermosa Beach Police Department in implementing previously mandated changes. The city will also pay Miller $135,000. The agreement does not specify how much of the settlement will go toward Miller’s legal fees. A separate settlement agreement with the Chamber and Ken Hartley provides for a payout of $25,000, with $13,102.35 going to Miller and the remainder to her attorney, Morgan Ricketts. Miller described herself as “relieved” with the settlement. She compared the…
Read this story on easyreadernews.com