After serving his country as a Navy diver, Jason Murchison returned to his native Orange County, California, earned a law degree, then dove into his lifelong passion of surfing. He began giving surf lessons part-time and, in 2016, transformed his passion project into a thriving year-round business: Learn to Surf.
Jason and his expert instructors have served thousands of people of all skill levels, although most of his clientele are beginners. Four-year-old kids, wounded military veterans, and people in substance abuse recovery are among those who caught their first wave under his tutelage.
Unfortunately, Jason’s wave of success crashed into a government breakwater: a local ordinance banning paid private instruction on public beaches in Newport Beach.
Enacted in 2012, the ordinance requires anyone who wants to teach anything on city beaches in exchange for a fee to first get written permission from City officials. Worse, there is no clear process for getting that permission, no standards for who qualifies, and no explanation provided for who gets approved while others are denied.
Jason tried in both 2015 and 2016 to get the required permission. He was denied both times. The City claimed no additional surf instructors were “needed.”
Jason is not alone. Since 2012, many surf instructors have sought permission to operate in Newport Beach, with approval granted to just three—two of which operate only in summer months. Perhaps unsurprisingly, these anointed few must give 20%-30% of their lesson fees to the City.
In 2016, just one month after he incorporated his business, Newport Beach enforced its ban against Jason for allegedly teaching surf lessons on city beaches. While he and the City reached a settlement in 2017, a July 2024 court order approved the City’s demand that Jason pay nearly $19,000 in fines and fees.
The City’s surf lesson restrictions don’t just harm entrepreneurs like Jason—they’re unconstitutional.
Only paid surf lessons are off-limits. Free surf lessons are no problem. This sort of arbitrary and irrational preference denies Jason equal treatment and opportunity under the law. Surf lessons provided for a fee are just as protected by the First Amendment and Fourteenth Amendments as is free instruction.
Whether along California’s coast or anywhere in the country, it’s illegal for the government to erect arbitrary barriers that benefit a few favored businesses while leaving everyone else high and dry.
Represented by Pacific Legal Foundation free of charge, Jason is fighting back with a federal lawsuit challenging Newport Beach’s unlawful restrictions on surf lessons. A win will restore his fundamental right to earn a living and protect the rights of all entrepreneurs to do the same for themselves, consumers, and their communities.
What’s At Stake?
- It is unconstitutional and unjust for Newport Beach to ban instructors from teaching others how to surf at public beaches in exchange for a fee.
- If you’re allowed to teach surfing at public beaches for free, it must be acceptable to earn a profit.
- The government shouldn’t be in the business of picking winners and losers, favoring some businesses while denying opportunity to similar small businesses.
