The reality TV stars along with 21 others are suing the city for its failure “to properly construct, inspect, maintain and operate its water supply system,” which, they allege, led to the loss of their home in the Palisades fire.
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Reality TV stars and former Pacific Palisades homeowners Spencer Pratt and Heidi Montag, along with 21 other wildfire victims, have sued the City of Los Angeles and the LA Department of Water and Power for its failure “to properly construct, inspect, maintain and operate its water supply system,” which contributed to the extensive damage wreaked by the Palisades Fire and led to the plaintiffs losing their homes.
“The Palisades Fire was an inescapable and unavoidable consequence of the egregious failure of the water supply system servicing areas in and around Pacific Palisades, including having an empty water reservoir,” Peter McNulty of the McNulty Law Firm, who is representing Montag and Pratt in the case, said in a statement. “This failure was a substantial factor in causing my clients and others to suffer enormous losses.”
Among the other plaintiffs listed in the lawsuit is Janet Pratt, Spencer’s mother, who also lost her home in the Palisades fire.
The Los Angeles City Attorney’s office did not immediately respond to Inman’s request for comment.
The civil lawsuit, which was filed in Los Angeles Superior Court on Tuesday, alleges that the fire was, in part, a result of the failure of the water system in the area. It further elaborates that the Santa Ynez Reservoir, which serves Pacific Palisades, was “completely offline and emptied before the fires erupted in the area,” which left firefighters few resources to work with when the fire broke out.
The reservoir had been out of commission for nearly a year before the Palisades fire started on Jan. 7, 2025, while waiting on repairs to its cover.
“Defendant Los Angeles Department of Water and Power (‘LADWP’) made the conscious decision to operate the water supply system with the reservoir drained and unusable as a ‘cost-saving’ measure,” the complaint states. “With the Santa Ynez Reservoir effectively out of commission, hydrants in Pacific Palisades failed after three tanks each holding one million gallons of water went dry within a span of 12 hours.”
The complaint also cites a quote from Gus Corona, business manager of IBEW Local 18, the employee union for the LADWP, in speaking with The Los Angeles Times.
“It’s completely unacceptable that this reservoir was empty for almost a year for minor repairs,” Corona said. He later added, “This work should have been done in-house, and they shouldn’t have depended on a contractor to do it; I truly believe it’s something that could have been avoided.”
The state of the local water system, contributed to by the empty reservoir, also hindered fire-fighting efforts because it led to lower water pressure that was not adequate for putting out fires — despite the area being prone to wildfires, the complaint alleges.
The plaintiffs are seeking damages in an amount to be determined at trial to include costs of repair, depreciation and replacement of damaged or destroyed personal and real property, as well as any loss of wages or business profits as a result of business interruption or displacement, and any legal fees related to the lawsuit.
“The City of Los Angeles deliberately designed and maintained the water supply system in this way, despite Los Angeles being in a fire-prone area,” McNulty said. “In the last 90 years, for example, more than 30 wildfires have scorched parts of neighboring Malibu. We intend to hold the City of Los Angeles accountable.”
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