ROLLING HILLS ESTATES : Norwegians Celebrate Soccer Field Victory

Norwegian expatriates who fought their homeland over the rights to a soccer field in Rolling Hills Estates celebrated victory Saturday with a dinner of torsk, or poached cod in dill and butter sauce.

In January, U.S. District Judge Harry L. Hupp ruled that Nansen Field, an 8.7-acre soccer field, belongs to the Seamen of Norway Inc., a Los Angeles-based nonprofit group.

But the Seamen ran up about $250,000 in legal fees fighting Norway. At least 10% of the money raised at the annual Sons of Norway torsk dinner at Nansen Field, will go toward legal costs. The torsk dinner netted about $500, said Sons of Norway spokesman Howard Thoreson.

The Kingdom of Norway bought the field in 1948 to provide a recreational area for the thousands of merchant seamen who stayed in the area while their cargo ships were unloaded.

Norway transferred ownership of the land to the Seamen in 1952, allowing the country to avoid paying property taxes, said E. Scott Palmer, attorney for the Seamen.

In 1989, the Norwegian Parliament voted to sell the assets of the country’s welfare agency for Norwegian seamen, said attorney Ole Sandberg, who represents Norway. Those assets included Nansen Field, which is now worth millions of dollars.

But the Seamen argued that they were required to maintain the land for public use and could not sell it. The Seamen also claimed to be the owners of the land.

Norway filed suit against the Seamen’s board of directors in 1993. That is the suit that was settled last month.