Holocaust survivor, ex-Navy pilot among seniors suing L.A. over Palisades fire damage
The list of plaintiffs, all 70 or older, reads like a cast of Hollywood characters, including a Holocaust survivor and a former U.S. Navy pilot undergoing cancer treatment.
In a complaint filed late Monday evening, they alleged the city should have ensured that key reservoirs were filled with water and that all fire hydrants were operational prior to the Palisades fire.
The Times previously reported that in the lead-up to the Jan. 7 inferno, the Santa Ynez Reservoir had been empty for months and more than 1,000 hydrants were in need of repair. As the fire spread that night, scores of hydrants in Pacific Palisades ran low on water.
The complaint also claims the DWP ignored urgent wind warnings and kept its electrical equipment in the area energized, which 'contributed to the fires or sparked new spot fires' in the Palisades burn zone.
'All of that taken together makes the city, including DWP, culpable for the harms that the clients have suffered – losing their homes and all of their valuable possessions,' said Crystal Nix-Hines, a partner at Quinn Emanuel Urquhart & Sullivan, the law firm representing the plaintiffs. 'This could have been prevented.'
A spokeswoman for the DWP declined to comment Tuesday afternoon because the city attorney's office had 'yet to be served with the official complaint.'
Several similar cases have been filed in the months since the Palisades fire killed 12 people and destroyed nearly 7,000 structures.
So far, the plaintiffs have only sought compensation for the loss of their property; the city of L.A. has immunity against claims over emotional distress and some other impacts from the fire.
The Times reported in February that the DWP approved a three-year, $10-million contract with the law firm Munger, Tolles & Olson to defend the utility against the growing number of lawsuits.
The plaintiffs in the latest case essentially allege that the city destroyed their property without giving them fair compensation for the loss.
The complaint, filed in state superior court in L.A. County, includes several harrowing narratives.
One passage describes how Rachel Schwartz, 93, 'arrived in Detroit with her sister in 1946 after surviving the Holocaust, including the Warsaw Ghetto, three concentration camps, and a death march.'
Schwartz moved to L.A. in 1960 and bought her home in Pacific Palisades 28 years ago. She lost the home and many priceless possessions in the fire.
Kenneth and Kristina Peterson were with their two children visiting Hawaii for Kristina's 60th birthday when the fire broke out. They 'watched helplessly as images of their burning community played over and over on the television,' according to the complaint.
Ken Peterson, 75, was undergoing treatment for cancer at the time. A former U.S. Navy pilot whose grandfather and father served in the two world wars, his keepsakes were all destroyed in the fire, including a 'Navy Commendation Medal for sustained meritorious service, flight suits, pilot's license, and log books.'
In a bright spot amid all the destruction, a neighbor saved the Petersons' dog before the flames consumed their home, the lawsuit says.
The involvement of multiple Malibu residents — including the Petersons — in the case is unique amid the recent wave of cases.
Malibu is a separate city from Los Angeles, but the plaintiffs allege that L.A. and its DWP's actions and inaction before the fire broke out contributed to its spread to the neighboring coastal enclave.
'The city's conscious decisions to leave its reservoir dry and its power on are simply unforgivable,' said Jeffrey Boozell, another attorney for the plaintiffs.
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