Re: Reality Star Spencer Pratt Sues City Of L.A. After His Home Burns Down

On 2025-01-27 4:30 AM, Ubiquitous wrote:

Former reality star Spencer Pratt and his wife, former “The Hills” alum Heidi
Montag, have made good on their promise to sue the City of Los Angeles for
the destruction of their $3 million home in the wildfires earlier this month.
 The 41-year-old filed the lawsuit in California’s Superior Court in Los
Angeles County on Tuesday, saying the house fire was “an inescapable and
unavoidable consequence” of the city’s alleged mismanagement of water, per
People. Other plaintiffs besides Pratt and Montag include Pratt’s mother,
Janet Pratt, and someone named William Pratt.
 The former reality stars are alleging “inverse condemnation” in the lawsuit.
This allows property owners to seek compensation for damages caused by the
government.
 Pratt’s lawsuit mentions the Santa Ynez Reservoir, described as being “out of
commission since February 2024.” The suit alleges that the City of Los
Angeles and the Department of Water and Power (LADWP) decided to “operate the
water supply system” despite the drained reservoir to save money. The
reservoir is reportedly awaiting repairs.
 “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 document states.
 “Defendants deliberately designed and maintained this water supply system in
this way, despite Los Angeles being in a fire-prone area,” it said.
 Pratt and his fellow plaintiff’s lawsuit also notes criticism previously
stated by a union employee.
 “It’s completely unacceptable that this reservoir was empty for almost a year
for minor repairs,” Gus Corona told The Los Angeles Times in an article
published January 10, which the lawsuit references. “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.”
 They are suing for an undisclosed amount and are also seeking attorneys’ fees
and trial by jury, the outlet noted. Damages are noted to be their destroyed
properties, loss of enjoyment of their properties, and loss of wages and
earning capacity.
 The Eaton and Palisades fires alone killed 28 people and destroyed more than
12,000 structures, making them among the most destructive fires in California
history, per AP News.
 Pratt and Montag have been vocal about the loss of their home, frequently
posting about it on social media and keeping their followers updated.
 “I’m watching our house burn down on the security cameras,” Pratt told fans
in a Snapchat video taken from inside a car right after the fires broke out.
 The father of two told blogger Perez Hilton earlier this month that he was
planning to sue the city, noting how he was unable to get help from the Los
Angeles Fire Department as his house went up in smoke.
 “They never came. The gate was still locked,” Pratt said. “They never came. I
watched from my security cameras until our house burned down. There were no
fire trucks.”
 

If ever there was a situation that called for a huge class action suit, this is it. Thousands of people impacted and 28 dead with incompetence and malfeasance rife within the political/bureaucratic class just screams for a court to award massive damages to those affected. Criminal charges should also be sought for all those "leaders" whose incompetence - or outright malfeasance - contributed enormously to this disaster.
And, of course, voters need to massively rethink who they are electing to office to ensure that they choose people who put competence ahead of woke nonsense.
--
Rhino