August 27, 2025 Your Source for Brentwood News

City Files Lawsuit Against Motel Owners For Allegedly Allowing Drug Activity

A Court Order Could Close the Motel for One Year and Require Changes to Management

By Zach Armstrong

A lawsuit has been filed against two Westside motel owners by the Santa Monica City Attorney’s Office, alleging the establishment creates a dangerous environment for its neighborhood by allowing drug deals, fights and more. If the City wins the verdict, a court order could close the motel for one year and require changes to management. 

The Pavilions Motel, located just west of Clover Park and within blocks of Grant Elementary School, has been the site of several drug-related arrests throughout its 30-year-history, the lawsuit asserts. 

This year, two executed search warrants recovered methamphetamine and fentanyl, along with baggies, scales and weapons in and around the motel.In 2007, Pavilions was part of a joint code enforcement and police operation which temporarily closed the business and led to the arrests of several people, including its owner, Saeed Farzam. Of five dead bodies found at the property since 2019, three were connected to drug abuse, the complaint alleges.

Nuisance activity continues to occur at the motel, the complaint states, with routine drug transactions taking place in its parking lot (which shares an alleyway with residential buildings) or through its windows. Various other illicit activities, such as prostitution and building violations, continue to plague Pavilions, the lawsuit states.

Chief of Police Ramon Batista said in a news release that the motel had an “outsized impact” on the deployment of police resources for years. According to the lawsuit, police regularly conduct enforcement at and around the Motel for up to a few weeks at a time.

Pavilions is owned and managed by Farzam along with Goharshad Farzam, who the complaint claims have violated the state Drug Abatement Act, state public nuisance laws and Santa Monica public nuisance law due to the perpetual illicit activity. The motel was not immediately able to respond to inquiry from Mirror Media Group.

Founded by the Farzams in 1990, Pavilions is a 20-unit budget motel along Ocean Park Boulevard. According to hotelscombined.com, the lodge’s cheapest per-night rate hovers around $100.

The lawsuit cites several posts dating back to 2011 from business-review websites where guests recounted unpleasant experiences. One Expedia reviewer stated in 2017 that groups of several people would rent rooms, stay drunk all night and get into fights. A Google review from late last year described Pavilions as the worst L.A. motel on account of cockroaches, the smell of methamphetamine smoke and constant fighting from other lodgers.

“Property owners are responsible for ensuring that their properties are not a nuisance or a danger to the neighborhood, and the city will hold them accountable when they fail to do so,” said City Attorney Douglas Sloan in a release.

The lawsuit seeks a court order to end drug activities, require physical and managerial improvements to the property, close the property for one year, seeks $25,000 in civil penalties per defendant and recovery of the city’s costs in investigating and abating the nuisance. 

The People of the State of California and the City of Santa Monica v. Saeed Farzam, Goharshad Farzam, and Pavilions Motel, Inc, has been assigned to Department 207 in the Beverly Hills Courthouse.

in Hard, News
Related Posts

(Video) Come Tour The Willows Community School!

August 27, 2025

August 27, 2025

Sign up for a tour at The Willows and come see what makes our school such a vibrant, inspiring place...

Metro LA’s Aug. 30 Deadline for Public Comment on Sepulveda Transit Draft EIR Approaches

August 27, 2025

August 27, 2025

Community Members Can Weigh In Before the 90-Day Comment Period Closes. Metro is reminding community members that the 90-day public...

Beverly Hills, Brentwood, Culver City, and Uni High Gear Up for Early-Season Games

August 26, 2025

August 26, 2025

The Centaurs, Eagles, Normans, and Wildcats Face Key Matchups This Week Football season is heating up across our area, with...

Brentwood’s Diesel Bookstore Hosts Author Terri Hanauer for The Lightness of Rain Launch Event

August 26, 2025

August 26, 2025

Santa Monica-Based Author Will Join Writer Gary Goldstein for a Free Sept. 2 Discussion Santa Monica-based author, director, and actor...

I-405 to See Lane Reductions, Ramp Closures as Pavement Rehab Project Continues

August 26, 2025

August 26, 2025

Drivers Should Expect Delays With Overnight Work Aug. 26–28, Sept. 5 Motorists using Interstate 405 through the Sepulveda Pass should...

Suspect Arrested After Eight-Hour SWAT Standoff in Jefferson Park Shooting

August 26, 2025

August 26, 2025

 Police Say a Man Was Killed and a Suspect Barricaded Himself Inside a Home Hours after a fatal shooting near...

Attorney General Rob Bonta Secures Release of $900M in Frozen Education Funds for California

August 25, 2025

August 25, 2025

Trump Administration Agrees to Release Frozen Education Funds  California Attorney General Rob Bonta announced Friday that the Trump administration has...

Brentwood’s San Vicente Medians Set for Makeover With Drought-Tolerant Landscaping

August 25, 2025

August 25, 2025

Residents Can Weigh In on Plant Choices Through an Online Survey Plans are moving forward to upgrade San Vicente Boulevard’s...

“Rich Rollin” Burglary Crew Linked to 92 Break-Ins Taken Down in LAPD Operation

August 25, 2025

August 25, 2025

Ten Suspects, Including Confirmed Gang Members, Face Charges Nearly 100 residential burglaries across the city have been tied to a...

18-Year-Old Woman Fatally Shot While Trying to Break Up a Fight on a Metro Bus

August 24, 2025

August 24, 2025

Police Say the Teen Was Killed in Westchester After Intervening in a Dispute  Efforts to break up a fight on...

Chuck Lorre Buys $27.5 Million Bel Air Mansion With Hollywood Regency Pedigree

August 24, 2025

August 24, 2025

TV Producer Closed on the John Elgin Woolf–Designed Estate at a Discount Chuck Lorre, the television producer behind The Big...

Is $1,500 Enough Anymore? The L.A. Tradeoffs Between Address and Actual Living Space

August 24, 2025

August 24, 2025

New Analysis Shows What 1500 Really Buys in the LA Metro In Greater Los Angeles, $1,500 rents less space than...

Former Ed Ruscha Brentwood Compound Lists for $4.65M: Artist-Reimagined Estate Hits Market

August 24, 2025

August 24, 2025

Sprawling 1.73-Acre Corner Lot Joins Two 1950s Ranch Homes  The onetime Los Angeles home of artist Ed Ruscha has been...

Two Days, Two Denials: Menendez Brothers Rejected for Parole

August 23, 2025

August 23, 2025

Erik Denied After 10-Hour Hearing; Lyle Rebuffed the Next Day Erik Menendez, convicted along with his brother in the 1989...

Rob Reiner to Attend for ‘This is Spinal Tap’ as Cinespia Wraps Summer at Hollywood Forever

August 23, 2025

August 23, 2025

Cinespia Closes Out Summer: Fan Favorites and DJs Return to Hollywood Forever Cinespia will close out summer with four outdoor...