Allen Matkins Secures Major Federal Court Victory in High-Stakes Land Dispute

LOS ANGELES, CALIFORNIA – July 23, 2025 – Allen Matkins announced today a decisive legal victory in the U.S. District Court for the Central District of California, securing a favorable outcome for our client, Hidden Passage, LLC (Hidden Passage). In collaboration with the Bureau of Land Management (BLM) — represented by the United States Attorney’s Office for the Central District of California — both parties, as co-defendants, successfully prevailed in this highly contentious dispute over a right-of-way in Morongo Valley, California. For nearly 10 years, plaintiff had been harassing Allen Matkins’ client, the owner of an extensive property in Morongo Valley. Plaintiff’s harassment included re-directing a stream to flood the client’s property as well as repeatedly attempting to build a road through the client’s property.

The Allen Matkins team — led by Andrew Wood, Adam Korn, and Lucas Urgoiti — secured a major initial victory through motion practice by getting plaintiff’s lawsuit dismissed with prejudice in 2024. After that victory, the Allen Matkins team moved for summary judgment on the client’s crossclaims. As part of its motion for summary judgment order, the Court held that plaintiff’s actions constituted both permanent and continuing trespass. In doing so, the Court found that there was no “public right-of-way” through our client’s property and plaintiff had no rights to enter the client’s property. Further, as part of its motion for summary judgment order, the Court invited the client to file a motion for damages to address the harm caused by plaintiff’s actions, which are estimated to exceed $175,000. This victory has brought the client substantial peace of mind against a long-term, vexatious litigant and demonstrates Allen Matkins’ ability to support our clients through legally complex and emotionally draining situations.

ABOUT ALLEN MATKINS

Allen Matkins, a law firm with over 270 attorneys, was founded with deep roots in real estate and has leveraged that foundation to grow and build prominent litigation, corporate, tax, labor and employment, land use, and environmental practices allowing us to partner with clients across myriad industries and markets. For more than 45 years, Allen Matkins has worked with clients drawn to us by our reputation for market leading solutions, pragmatism, exemplary quality, approachability, and our unparalleled network of contacts and connections in business and government. For more information about Allen Matkins please visit www.allenmatkins.com.