Woman Alleges Neighboring Home Is A Party House In Pandemic

VENICE, CA — A longtime Venice resident is suing the owners of an adjacent home, alleging the property is being leased on a short-term basis for party purposes during the coronavirus pandemic.

Nina Menkes' Santa Monica Superior Court lawsuit against Palms Blvd. Venice Beach LLC alleges private and public nuisance, trespass, intentional infliction of emotional distress, unjust enrichment and violation of the Business and Professions Code.

PBVB has "made it clear that their short-term rental income stream is more important to them than compliance with the law or plaintiff's and her neighbors' concerns," according to the complaint.

The suit filed Friday seeks unspecified compensatory and punitive damages, and a court order preventing the landlord from continuing to rent out the property on a short-term basis.

A representative for PBVB could not be immediately reached for comment.

Menkes has resided for nearly 20 years in her quiet neighborhood, located about two miles from the commercial areas of Venice, according to her court papers, There are no nightclubs, bars or restaurants on her block or in the vicinity, the suit says.

PBVB bought the home next to Menkes' residence last November, according to the suit, which says the PBVB property has seven bedrooms, 5 1/2 bathrooms, a guesthouse and a large outdoor pool and patio area.

From April until the present, PBVB has listed, marketed and rented the property for profit on a short-term basis, using online services such as Airbnb, according to the suit, which says guests typically stay at the home for less than a week and often for only one to two nights.

"In practice, PBVB has converted the property into an unlicensed and illegal, all-hours nightclub, bar and party house," the suit alleges.

Guests are charged well over $2,500 per night and PBVB has "apparently marketed the property as an open alternative to the still-closed bars and nightclubs where people can drink, smoke, dance, fight and party as freely and as loudly and for as long as they like, all to plaintiff's and her neighbors' detriment," the suit alleges.

PBVB's guests have "near continually held raucous, indoor/outdoor parties, frequently lasting through all hours of the day and the night," the suit says. "These parties routinely bring dozens of visitors to the property, upwards of 50 guests at a time on more than one occasion."

Guests occasionally hire DJs with professional, amplified sound systems and some in attendance use microphones to host events, give speeches, make announcements and sing along with "their already deafening music," the suit says.

Guests often smoke and drink to intoxication and block the plaintiff's driveway with their cars, according to the plaintiff.

"Defendants' guests rent the property on a short-term basis and do not live in the neighborhood, they do not care what effect their behavior has on (Menkes) and other neighborhood residents ... it simply is not their problem," the suit states.

PBVB's guests have used the home in violation of stay-at-home orders issued by Los Angeles County, which generally forbid any and all social gatherings with rare exception, the suit alleges.

Menkes has spent months trying to resolve the problem with PBVB without success, according to her court papers.

- City News Service