Lawsuits claim LADWP power lines caused Palisades Fire, claim cover-up

Attorneys representing homeowners and businesses destroyed in the Palisades Fire now claim that energized power lines owned by the Los Angeles Department of Water and Power ignited the blaze--contradicting earlier statements from the utility and escalating claims of a cover-up.

The new allegation, filed Monday in Los Angeles County Superior Court, cites a letter from LADWP's own counsel confirming the lines were active at the time of ignition, despite prior public assurances they had been de-energized for years.

The new claim comes more than two months after the first lawsuit was filed against the city of Los Angeles claiming the lack of water in its fire hydrants and a reservoir in the Palisades contributed to the destruction. Attorneys at the time said the cause of the fire was not immediately obvious. Also, the LADWP told the Washington Post in January that a powerline in the suspected fire origin area had been de-energized for five years.

But a letter from LADWP's counsel dated March 20 stated that the powerline was energized when the hills above the Pacific Palisades ignited, according to the plaintiffs' new filing.

"You asked about a statement in the Washington Post that the sub-transmission line in the area was not energized. That statement was the result of a misunderstanding. The line had been de-energized for several years before the fire, but as we said in our prior correspondence, it was energized at the time the fire ignited. There were no faults on the line around the time the fire ignited," a complaint quotes the letter as stating.

That lawsuit, filed Monday by Alexander Robertson IV, goes on to claim that the "misunderstanding" was actually a "massive cover-up" by the utility.

"As detailed infra, LADWP's surveillance cameras captured the start of this second ignition directly above the Summit neighborhood at approximately 10:30 p.m. on January 7, 2025. Further, LADWP's statement that 'there were no faults around the time the fire ignited' was a despicable attempt to conceal its knowledge that there had been a fault around 10:30 p.m. when its H-frame pole snapped in half sending energized powerlines crashing to the ground below," states the complaint. Smith, et al. v. City of Los Angeles Acting by and Through the Los Angeles Department of Water and Power, 25STCV08564 (L.A. Super. Ct., filed March 24, 2025).

The letter quoted by Robertson was purportedly written by Nicholas D. Fram, a litigation partner with Munger, Tolles & Olson LLP and counsel for LADWP. Fram said he could not comment on the letter or the litigation, and pointed to a statement issued by the utility on Tuesday.

The statement said, "LADWP's distribution circuits--the lines that supply electricity to homes and businesses--in the vicinity but outside of the area where the fire is suspected to have started in Pacific Palisades are entirely underground. LADWP has one overhead line in the area, an overhead 34.5 kV sub-transmission line--the Royal-Monte Grande 1 Line--that passes approximately a quarter mile from the reported origin of the Palisades Fire. Devices monitoring the Royal-Monte Grande 1 Line recorded no faults or anomalies near the reported time of ignition of the Palisades Fire."

The statement went on to say, "The line was manually de-energized by opening switches on the Encino side of the line around 2:15 p.m. on January 7, so the part of the line nearest to the suspected area of origin was not energized thereafter, including at 10:30 p.m. that night."

Robertson said in a telephone interview Tuesday that the plaintiffs' attorneys have met with Munger Tolles, and he believes LADWP is preserving evidence. He also said they had a dispute with LADWP about the preservation of evidence in areas where energy lines were arcing.

"They're saying they manually de-energized the lines at 2:30 in the afternoon. We asked them to produce their SCADA data to confirm, and they refused," Robertson said.

Supervisory Control and Data Acquisition systems (SCADA) collect data in real time from remote locations. They can be used to control and monitor equipment that deals with critical materials or events.

LADWP'S statement says the U.S. Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, and Firearms is investigating the origin and cause of the Palisades Fire.

"LADWP has provided extensive information to the ATF, fulfilling every request the ATF has made -- including for electrical data. Neither the ATF nor any other investigating authority has indicated that LADWP facilities were involved in the ignition of the Palisades Fire. The ATF examined LADWP's overhead facilities in the area and did not ask LADWP to preserve any of them," the statement said.

Lawsuits against Southern California Edison blamed power lines for the Eaton Fire in Altadena that started on Jan. 7. Complaints filed in the aftermath of the Palisades fire focused on the LADWP's water infrastructure.

A lawsuit by attorney Kevin R. Boyle on behalf of himself and other plaintiffs against the LADWP on March 20 appears to be the first to claim that the LA utility's energy infrastructure caused the Palisades fire. Boyle's first amended complaint dated March 24 also claims that footage from LADWP's CCTV cameras showed a "bright orange glow" on the night of Jan. 7 at the location where the poles snapped, and the power line fell to the ground. Boyle Law PC v. City of Los Angeles, Acting by and Through the Los Angeles Department of Water and Power, 25STCV08248 (L.A. Super. Ct., filed March 20, 2025).

Other attorneys are following suit. James P. Frantz said on Tuesday that his colleagues were preparing an amended complaint to focus on the powerlines. He also touched on speculation that the fire was sparked by fireworks a few days prior.

"The power lines were allegedly deenergized. We think they were incorrect about the powerlines," said the founder of Frantz Law Group. "Also, the fire that started with the fireworks was not properly extinguished. It was on the LADWP's easement. When it restarted, they should have been Johnny-on-the-spot and put it out."