20-Person Brawl Shuts Down Hotel Laguna, 14 West Wednesday

LAGUNA BEACH, CA — Two Laguna Beach hotels were shut down late Wednesday morning after several disturbances stemming from a brawl were reported Tuesday, the City of Laguna Beach said in a statement.

City officials closed Hotel Laguna and 14 West Boutique Hotel "due to unsafe conditions and to protect the health and safety of the public, people inside the premises and Laguna Beach Police officers," according to the statement.

The closures were enacted after Laguna Beach City Manager Shohreh Dupuis issued a summary nuisance abatement order late Tuesday afternoon, the city said.

The statement was issued following several "physical altercations" that took place between two different security teams armed with firearms at the hotels Tuesday.

According to officials, the armed guards were put in place at both hotels as part of "an ongoing civil dispute over operating and management authority at the hotel properties."

The disturbances were initially reported on Tuesday, May 2, when Laguna Beach Police officers responded to "several separate disturbances" at both of the hotels. That morning, officers were called to 14 West Boutique Hotel in response to reports of an armed security guard causing a disturbance.

Police responded by separating the parties, who told police that they would "remain civil," officials said.

However, later that same Tuesday, Laguna Beach Police officers were called to Hotel Laguna in response to reports of a 20-person brawl between the same parties and others in the lobby of Hotel Laguna.

One security guard was arrested after police found that he struck another guard, police said.

“Although this is a civil matter, the presence of armed security and these types of altercations require City intervention for the protection of the public and all concerned,” Dupuis said in a statement. “We started working with the attorneys on both sides to come up with a resolution in the early afternoon and had urged the attorneys to have their clients voluntarily close the buildings while claims and lawsuits are resolved. Both parties had agreed by 6 p.m. to unarm their security guards at both locations but did not agree to close the buildings.”

The altercations continued into the evening, when LBPD officers were dispatched twice more to 14 West after 6 p.m. to respond to parties "arguing and engaging in altercations." Police also found armed guards still present at both hotels despite agreeing to disarm them.

“This is a civil issue that has resulted in both parties hiring armed security and attempting to force the other from the businesses,” Police Chief Jeff Calvert said. “Both sides have been warned but unfortunately, neither side will relent and take the appropriate actions through the civil judicial process. Immediate closure of the businesses will allow a cooling off period for both parties and protect the public from inadvertently being caught up in the middle of a civil issue that has the potential to become more violent.”

Both hotels will remain closed to the public until the threat to public health and safety is gone, city officials said.

No further information was immediately available.