California beach access trial underway

A judge is requiring a billionaire technology mogul to testify at a trial underway over public access to a popular Northern California beach.

Sun Microsystems co-founder Vinod Khosla bought the Martin’s Beach property in 2008 and closed the only road to the site, prompting a lawsuit. The beach is about 35 miles south of San Francisco.

San Mateo County Judge Barbara Mallach denied a motion on the first day of the trial on Thursday that sought to spare Khosla from testifying.

Khosla is opposed by The Surfrider Foundation, which argues that he is violating the California Coastal Act by blocking the road that leads to the beach. The beach under state law is open to the public.

Khosla’s attorney, Jeffrey Essner, says the public was previously allowed to access the beach for a fee, so there was no right of public access.