Recovering Bruce’s Beach: A Historic Reparative Real Estate Transaction.

Please join us for a presentation from George Fatheree — a partner in Sidley’s Los Angeles office — who led a pro bono team of lawyers from across the country to create a framework for a historic reparative real estate transaction.

In June 2022, the Los Angeles County Board of Supervisors voted unanimously to return Bruce’s Beach to the descendants of Charles and Willa Bruce, a Black couple who operated a successful resort on the property that was unjustly taken by the City of Manhattan Beach in 1924 as a result of racial animus.

George will describe the complex federal, state, and local legal issues involved in the matter — including constitutional claims, property rights, valuation methodologies, and tax considerations — and how the team fought to protect the interests of the Bruce family’s descendants, while developing a winning strategy to return the property that would withstand legal challenge and serve as a model for similar efforts throughout the U.S.

For additional information in advance of the presentation, a profile highlighting the work is available here. George’s bio can be accessed here.