Brewers Owner Sued by Billionaire KKR Heir Neighbor for Stealing Sand

Two feuding wealthy businessmen are struggling to play nice in the sandbox. The owner of the Brewers has been sued over construction tactics in his Malibu home by his billionaire neighbor, who says the homeowner moved sand from the public beach onto his private property.

Mark Attanasio, whose team sits atop the National League Central, bought a home in Broad Beach for $23 million in 2007, and the empty lot next door a decade later for $6.6 million, according to the Los Angeles Times. It’s one of the most expensive and celebrity-filled real estate markets in California; the founder of Oakley set a state record earlier this year when he sold his waterfront home in June for $210 million.

Attanasio’s next-door neighbor, James Kohlberg, filed the lawsuit in Los Angeles County Superior Court on Aug. 8, with his LLC suing while not naming the men directly. 

The suit accuses Attanasio of using the beach as his “personal sandbox” and asks for fines to be levied against the Brewers owner.

Kohlberg’s father, Jerome, struck it rich with his global investment firm, Kohlberg Kravis Roberts & Co. Kohlberg filed a suit last week claiming Attanasio’s construction crews operated large machinery in tidal zones to bring beach onto the private property while spilling gasoline into the water and sand as well as restricting public access to the beach. Attanasio’s attorney says the construction and the MLB owner’s company, 2XMD Partners LLC, have complied with all the secured permits to repair the damaged seawall.

“2XMD is in the midst of a fully-permitted emergency repair of the property to protect it from ocean forces. It has secured all permits necessary for the repairs from the City of Malibu and LA County as well as thoroughly vetted all contractors and sub-contractors involved in the project,” attorney Kenneth Ehrlich said in a statement to the L.A. Times.

The suit says Attanasio violated the California Coastal Act. For years, both public and private efforts have tried to rebuild the sand at Broad Beach, including by celebrity homeowners like Dustin Hoffman and Ray Romano. Kohlberg’s suit calls for Attanasio to replace the sand.