OC City Must Pay $1M For Library Censorship Lawsuit, Judge Says

HUNTINGTON BEACH, CA — The City of Huntington Beach must pay around $1 million in legal bills for restricting minors' access to certain books at the city's public library, an Orange County judge ordered this week.

Orange County Judge Lindsey Martinez said in a tentative ruling released Monday, April 27, that the city needs to pay $960,000 to attorneys from four legal organizations, who billed more than 1,300 hours of work on the lawsuit against the city's book restriction policy.

Former librarian and plaintiff in the case Erin Spivey told The Orange County Register that she's pleased with the ruling, but frustrated by what she says is the city's continued waste of taxpayer money.

"As a resident of Huntington Beach, it's incredibly frustrating to know we're losing another $1 million that could have been solved just by putting 10 books back where they belong," Spivey told the newspaper. "It just shows that the City Council is not interested in listening to what residents have to say."

Martinez ruled in September the the city's book restriction policy violated the state's Freedom to Read Act and cannot be enforced.

The city's book restriction was intended to bar children from accessing books with sexual content at the Huntington Beach Central Library without parent consent.

The restricted titles, which included “It’s Perfectly Normal” and “Sex is a Funny Word,” were placed on a shelf on the fourth floor of the Central Library.

The City Council voted unanimously in October to appeal the decision, and the case is currently pending in the appeals court.