$10 Billion Class Action Lawsuit Filed for the Palisades Fire

$10 Billion Class Action Lawsuit Filed for the Palisades Fire by Lawyers for Justice, P.C. Against Santa Monica Mountains Conservancy, California State Parks, California Natural Resources Agency, Mountains Recreation & Conservation Authority, City of Los Angeles, and Los Angeles Department of Water and Power

LOS ANGELES, California (July 15, 2025) – A class action lawsuit has been filed against six government entities, seeking more than $10 billion in monetary damages, as well as declaratory relief and injunctive and equitable relief, in connection with the devastating Palisades Fire: the City of Los Angeles, Los Angeles Department of Water and Power (LADWP), California Natural Resources Agency, California State Parks, Santa Monica Mountains Conservancy, and the Mountains Recreation & Conservation Authority.

The lawsuit is accessible here.

The class action seeks to hold the government defendants jointly and severally liable for the devastating Palisades Fire and is brought on behalf of individuals and businesses who have suffered harm due to the fire. Filed by three plaintiffs who suffered heart-wrenching losses, including, but not limited to, damages to their real property, personal property, and/or businesses, the lawsuit alleges negligence and mismanagement of public lands and utilities that led directly to the outbreak and spread of the fire. The lawsuit alleges that defendants engaged in inverse condemnation by taking plaintiffs’ and class members’ property without just compensation and unlawfully infringing on property interests protected by the United States Constitution and the California Constitution. Additionally, due to the perceived uncertainty faced by class members regarding their legal rights and ability to pursue just compensation for their losses against the government defendants, and in light of the incredibly short deadlines and stringent procedural requirements of the California Tort Claims Act (also known as the California Government Claims Act), the lawsuit seeks declaratory relief. Plaintiffs aim to obtain clarity and assurance that class members’ claims will not be barred under the applicable statutory deadlines—six months for claims involving death, personal injury, or damage to personal property, and twelve months for claims involving damage to real property, measured from the date of accrual, to submit written notice of such claims to the relevant government entities.

One of the plaintiffs, Lily Gilani, is a longtime local resident and community advocate who previously ran for Congress to represent the communities impacted by the fire, has joined the lawsuit not only on behalf of homeowners, but also renters, small business owners, and others who sustained losses from the fire. Damages include, and are not limited to, total destruction of homes, personal and business property loss, smoke damage, displacement, loss of income, loss of property value, and other financial hardship. Unlike other lawsuits filed in connection with the Palisades Fire, this class action seeks not only to recover damages and relief for those who have been harmed, but also to use class action procedures to streamline the pursuit of justice on behalf of all similarly affected individuals, as opposed to the filing and joining of individual cases under joinder rules. Lawyers for Justice, P.C. has a proven record of success in complex class action litigation, having handled over 1,000 class actions in the past decade. The firm is also handling a current class action against Southern California Edison and Edison International related to the Eaton Fire which ravaged the Los Angeles area at the same time as the Palisades Fire.

About Lawyers for Justice, P.C.
Lawyers for Justice, P.C. is a California-based litigation firm with a national reputation for aggressive advocacy in consumer, employment, and mass tort class actions. The firm has recovered hundreds of millions of dollars on behalf of clients and remains committed to fighting for communities harmed by corporate or government misconduct.