Following last October’s disgraceful vote by the San Diego City Council to remove open-space protections on the former Polo Fields, amend Surf Cup Sports’ lease on the 114-acre property, and exempt Surf from environmental review, the Fairbanks Polo Club Homes homeowners’ association (FPCHA) filed a motion for preliminary injunction.

That motion sought a declaration that Ocean Industries, having assigned to the FPCHA and thereby given up all its rights under the 1983 Grant Deed, necessarily gave up its right under that deed to amend it. The Hon. Judge Earl H. Maas III on January 16, 2026 denied that motion for a preliminary injunction – but not on its merits. Judge Maas was uncomfortable with the remedy of a court order prohibiting Ocean from signing the grant deed termination. Instead, the judge invited the FPCHA’s legal team to reformulate the motion as one for summary adjudication to resolve the issue before continuing to a trial. A new hearing and ruling are expected in three to four months.

We remain confident that there is strong merit in the case; that the assignment was to the FPCHA; and that by giving them the assignment, Ocean gave up all rights, including the right to terminate the Grant Deed.