Court rejects Malibu’s claim to Winding Way trail easements

By The Malibu Times · Thu Sep 03 2026

A Los Angeles County Superior Court judge has rejected the City of Malibu’s attempt to establish ownership of public trail easements along Winding Way and Murphy Way near Escondido Canyon Park, ruling in favor of the Santa Monica Mountains Conservancy and Mountains Recreation and Conservation Authority. The Sept. 1 ruling sustained demurrers filed by the Conservancy and MRCA and dismissed the City’s complaint without leave to amend in City of Malibu v. Santa Monica Mountains Conservancy, et al.

The dispute involves hiking and equestrian trail easements originally granted to Los Angeles County in the late 1980s. Malibu filed the lawsuit in April, arguing that ownership of the easements transferred to the City when Malibu incorporated in 1991. The City based its claim in part on California Streets and Highways Code Section 989, contending that the recreational trails qualified as “county highways” whose ownership interests transferred to Malibu upon incorporation.

The court rejected that argument, finding that recreational hiking and equestrian trails are fundamentally different from the roads contemplated under the statute. The judge also determined that the City waited too long to assert ownership, noting that Malibu had worked with the Conservancy and MRCA for decades on management and maintenance of the trails while treating the agencies as the property owners.

According to the ruling, the City did not assert its ownership theory until 2024. In addressing Malibu’s contention that it only recently discovered it owned the trails, the judge characterized the position as a “creative legal argument” and said the claim that the City lacked actual or constructive notice “strains credulity.”

The court also found the City’s claims barred by the statute of limitations, concluding that allowing a government agency to assert ownership after roughly three decades of recognizing another entity as the owner would undermine public policy.

“This is a significant victory for the public trails of the Santa Monica Mountains,” Santa Monica Mountains Conservancy Chair Miguel A. Luna said in a statement. “These trails have been managed for public use for decades.”

George Lange, chair of the MRCA Governing Board, said the decision provides clarity regarding ownership and management of the trails and allows the agencies to continue maintaining public access.

The Conservancy and MRCA were directed to submit proposed orders and judgments by Sept. 14. A case management conference is scheduled for Oct. 22.

The Malibu Times has reached out to the City of Malibu for comment on the court’s ruling and will publish the City’s response, along with a full story on the case, in next week’s edition.