Los Angeles

Dispute Over Sale of Mavericks Surf Contest Heads to Court

One thing's for sure: You can't have more than one surfer on a wave.

But, as NBC Bay Area has been reporting, there are a lot of potential riders vying to be the one atop the Mavericks Big Wave Surf Contest.

This Friday, the current, though disputed, contest organizer, Cartel Management of Los Angeles, will go to bankruptcy court to try to get the go-ahead to sell the contest rights to the World Surf League for $525,000.

The sale comes as Cartel attempts to sell assets after seeking Chapter 11 protection during this past season, which basically killed the contest.

The Mavericks contest is an international competition in which the world's top surfers are given 48 hours to show up at Pillar Point, near Half Moon Bay, once the waves are deemed worthy.

But Cartel lost an $812,000 lawsuit to Segler Holdings of Texas in June 2015 over a botched promotion of a tanning product.

Now, Segler has filed an objection to Cartel's sale to the WSL, essentially saying the deal won't cover Cartel's outstanding debt and is not in the "best interests" of the bankruptcy estate.

Plus, Cartel's former partner, Titans of Mavericks, is also now trying to block the sale accusing Cartel of "deceiving" the Harbor District in issuing the 5-year contest permit only to Cartel.

All the parties plan to show up in court.

Contact Us