LA faces legal battles over fire with high-caliber legal team

The city of Los Angeles' selection of Munger Tolles & Olson LLP to defend the Department of Water and Power in lawsuits stemming from the Palisades fire is a sign that the utility is preparing for a high-stakes, high-cost legal struggle, attorneys say.

"The amount at stake in the Palisades fire is, at least, well into the tens of billions of dollars - probably hundreds of billions of dollars," Alexander R. Wheeler of the Parris Law Firm in Lancaster said in a phone call on Friday. "The dollar value of the real estate destroyed in that fire is enough to bankrupt the city, right? So, if I were the city, I would pick the best law firm that I could hire, and I think they've done that."

Wheeler lost his home in the Palisades fire and represents multiple plaintiffs in a lawsuit against Southern California Edison for the Eaton fire. He also has clients who were victims of the Palisades fire. Artine v. Southern California Edison, 25STCV01354 (L.A. Super. Ct., filed Jan. 17, 2024).

Munger Tolles chair and national trial lawyer Brad D. Brian in Los Angeles represents the city and utility in at least one case related to the Palisades fire, along with firm partners Daniel B. Levin in Los Angeles and Nicholas D. Fram in San Francisco, according to court documents filed Feb. 7. Grigsby et al. v. City of Los Angeles, Acting by and Through the Los Angeles Department of Water and Power, 25STCV00832 (L.A. Super. Ct., filed Jan. 13, 2025).

Emails and a phone call to Brian were not answered by press time Tuesday. A spokeswoman for Munger Tolles, Sara Rosenblit, referred questions to Los Angeles City Attorney Hydee Feldstein Soto. Media representatives for the city attorney's office did not respond to emailed or phoned requests for comment by press time.

Alexander Robertson IV of Robertson and Associates LLP in Westlake Village, who represents the plaintiffs in the Grigsby lawsuit, pointed to Munger Tolles' success in representing the Hawaiian Electric Industries and Hawaiian Electric Company in litigation surrounding the 2023 wildfires in Lahaina that burned 6,693 acres and damaged 3,312 properties, resulting in some $3.29 billion in damages.

Brian, who was lead counsel in that case, along with co-counsel Henry Weissmann, negotiated a $4.039 billion settlement in November, which remains in process.

"We've dealt with them on the Maui fire case, so we have a good working relationship with them, and they're a respected adversary - but it doesn't change our approach one bit," Robertson said in a phone call on Friday.

Robertson's co-counsel on the Palisades case, Roger N. Behle Jr. of Foley Bezek Behle & Curtis LLP, agreed in an email on Friday.

"This does not change anything for us," Behle said. "We remain fully committed to holding accountable those responsible for the devastation caused by the Palisades fire."  

James P. Frantz of Frantz Law Group in San Diego also pointed to Munger Tolles' success in the Hawaii case.

Frantz said he represents some 200 plaintiffs in two lawsuits alleging failures and shortcomings in battling the Palisades fire. Kohanim v. Los Angeles Department of Water and Power et al., 25STCV01074 (L.A. Super. Ct., filed Jan. 15, 2025); Gonzalez v. Los Angeles Department of Water and Power, 25STCV01325 (L.A. Super. Ct., led Jan. 17, 2025).

"I think Munger Tolles being the adviser to [Hawaiian Electric], they obviously advised their client correctly on everything in the case to get it resolved," Frantz said. "I think it's wise of LADWP and the city of Los Angeles to hire them, because they need a great firm, because they're in a big mess right now."