The owner of an Orange County surf school has won his legal battle against the city of Newport. Jason Murchison, owner of the business Learn to Surf, reached a settlement with Newport Beach, California which will allow his school to operate.
Murchison’s beef with Newport goes way back. He says he applied for permits in 2015 and 2016, but was rejected both times. The current rules do not allow paid instruction without a contract with the city, of which only three are issued (free instruction, such as teaching a friend to surf, was always allowed).
“Overall, protecting the public by having rules and regulations that govern how public property is used by private companies is good for everyone and the city will continue to allow independent contractors (that follow the rules) to provide services to the public in Newport Beach,” explained the city attorney to Courthouse News Service.
However, it appears that Murchison was undeterred by this failure. In 2016 the city cited him for teaching surfing without a contract and sued him in state court. According to his legal team, the suit was settled in 2017, but it wasn’t until July 2024 that a court order approved the City’s demand that Jason pay nearly $19,000 in fines and fees.
In response, Murchison filed a new lawsuit in January of 2025, claiming that Newport Beach was infringing on his rights. “Newport Beach decided three surf schools was enough — but it never had any basis for that conclusion,” said Caleb Trotter, a senior attorney with Pacific Legal Foundation, the nonprofit law firm that took up Murchison’s case. “The government doesn’t get to cap competition just because it feels like it. Every entrepreneur deserves the freedom to build a business without the City deciding the market is full.”
Now Murchison has his wish. The July 28 settlement grants his school a five-year agreement, the same terms granted to the already approved schools.
This is the latest in a long run of cases where Pacific Legal Foundation has worked to curtail the ability of local governments to protect beaches. The California-based public interest firm often takes up libertarian and conservative causes with the hope of setting legal precedent. Most notably, they were instrumental in overturning the legal precedent known as “Chevron deference,” which previously directed courts to defer to the expertise of federal agencies when interpreting ambiguous laws – thus taking away power from regulatory agencies such as the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) and putting it in the hands of the courts. More recently, the PLF has been fighting to limit beach access for the public in Moody Beach, Maine.
