The city of Beverly Hills has dropped a lawsuit it filed in 2023 against a union representing striking hotel workers in which the city alleged that their early-morning protests outside two hotels being picketed in the ongoing labor dispute at the time had brought noise complaints from nearby residents.
The Los Angeles Superior Court public nuisance complaint targeted Unite Here! Local 11 and sought a court order directing demonstrators to limit their protests to 8 a.m. to 10 p.m. The suit maintained the protesters were using drums and bullhorns and had started as early as 5:30 a.m. outside the Beverly Hilton and Waldorf Astoria Beverly Hills.
On Thursday, attorneys for the city filed court papers with Judge Daniel S. Murphy asking that the case be dismissed "with prejudice," meaning it cannot be refiled. Other court papers filed by the city on Jan. 17 stated that the suit was moot given that labor agreements have been reached with the hospitality workers at the two hotels.
Prior to the labor resolution, union Co-President Kurt Petersen previously issued a statement maintaining that the suit violated the protesters' free speech.
"It is beyond outrageous that the city of Beverly Hills is using its resources to stifle the First Amendment-protected protest activity of low-wage, immigrant workers," the statement read. "These are workers who make its luxury hotels run and who are simply seeking a living wage. The city should be helping to lift them up, not attack them with baseless lawsuits."
According to the suit filed last Aug. 15, residents near the hotels reported whistles being blown as well as shouting and screaming from the area of Wilshire and Santa Monica boulevards. When Beverly Hills police investigated, the protesters refused to identify themselves except for union representatives, including Lorena Lopez, the suit stated.
On July 24, City Manager Nancy Hunt-Coffey spoke with another union leader named Sol and told her the drums were disturbing residents across the street, including children of some families who were home for the summer, the suit stated. When Hunt-Coffey asked Sol to delay demonstrations until 8 a.m. and to cease the drum beating, Sol replied, "Yeah, yeah, yeah," which the city manager thought meant that Sol agreed to comply, the suit stated.
Two days later, BHPD police Capt. Giovanni Trejo went to the area and spoke with Lopez, requesting her to cease the protest noise before 8 a.m., the suit stated.
"She indicated she would consider the request, but did not commit to complying," according to the complaint.
That same day, police responded to complaints from Beverly Hilton staff and security of aggressive confrontations, bullhorns blown in ears, blocked traffic and up-close screaming, the suit stated. The next day, protesters allegedly broke through a barrier and injured a security guard, the suit alleged.
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