There is now a lawsuit in San Mateo County seeking to stop the county from taking down a controversial fence surrounding some long-vacant property, and the man who put up the fence remains defiant.

The 26-year-old girlfriend of 62-year-old Luke Brugnara — the man who has been causing a stir in Daly City over a hastily erected fence surrounding some long-vacant property, part of which was used for public access to a beach — has filed a lawsuit seeking a temporary restraining order to preserve the fence. Yitong Emily Wen made the filing in state Superior Court on Monday, claiming ownership of the property, and saying that the six-foot-high chainlink fence was code compliant" as the Chronicle reports.

The fence appeared last month around the property that sits next to Thornton State Beach, with a handwritten note attached near a popular beach trail threatening violence against trespassers.

It appears that Brugnara and Wen may be living in an RV on the property — which consists of four parcels — and Brugnara apparently struck an agreement last fall with one of the property's seven owners to purchase that owner's share of the land. The ownership structure is fairly complicated, involving multiple parties, some of whom are siblings, and all of whom are elderly, as the Chronicle has reported.

Brugnara now asserts full ownership, however, telling ABC 7 this week, "Dude, it doesn't matter whether I own 1% or 20%. I have a right to protect my interests, and I have a right to protect the property."

It's unclear why Wen's name is on the lawsuit and not Brugnara's, but Brugnara claims to have made his purchase under an LLC called Olympic Way, and perhaps the girlfriend is also linked to that.

The Chronicle's reporting suggested that this property has been in a sort of limbo, with the seven owners previously seeking to sell it — though a previous development deal ran into complications and fell through. They also suggested that any sale of the land would require the approval of the largest shareholder of the property, Utah resident Bruce Norton. Norton reportedly owns 10/24ths of three of the parcels, and an attorney for Norton has told the Chronicle that whatever deed appeared to have granted Brugnara ownership of a small share of the land would be null and void without Norton's express approval.

Meanwhile, Brugnara was arrested last month by Daly City police for allegedly making criminal threats against a couple walking their dog near the fence. Brugnara and Wen insist that they have not threatened anyone, and Wen further told the Chronicle that the man who filed the police report actually assaulted her.

Brugnara was previously known to SFist as the owner of a Sea Cliff mansion where he was accused of receiving $11 million worth of artwork from a gallery, for which he then refused to pay, claiming the works were gifts and he was intending to open a museum. He ended up being convicted of mail fraud and sentenced to seven years in prison in 2015, and he was let out on supervised release in November 2020.

The Chronicle notes that Brugnara had another run-in in federal court in July 2023, after a firearm that was registered to his girlfriend was found to have his DNA on it — which got him a revocation of his supervised release, and another 456 days in jail.

The entire fence controversy is strange on its face, and it's baffling why Brugnara would want to court so much drama and law enforcement attention, given his other legal troubles.

As ABC 7 reports, there is now a bench warrant for Brugnara's arrest, and legal action pending in a separate federal case against him. Brugnara is accused of defrauding a pandemic-era relief program, getting a PPP loan for $422,000 by lying about the size of his company its number of employees. Federal prosecutors say that his recent arrest in Daly City, for allegedly threatening someone, show that he is a potential danger to the public.

Brugnara claimed this week to be ignorant of the bench warrant, saying, "That's the surprise, I guess, of the day."

Last weekend, some members of the public knocked down several sections of the fence near the beach trail, and this has now reportedly happened three times. Daly City officials told ABC 7 that they would removing the fence as of Thursday (today), though it's not clear if that is still going forward.

Previously: Legal Drama Likely to Heat Up Over Fence Installed on Coastal Property in Daly City

Top image via David Canepa