Former MTV stars Spencer Pratt and Heidi Montag are taking legal action against Los Angeles and others after losing their Pacific Palisades, California, home earlier this month in the wildfire that is currently burning in Los Angeles.
According to The Los Angeles Times, The Hills couple– along with more than 20 other Pacific Palisades property owners and tenants– have sued both the city of Los Angeles and the Los Angeles Department of Water and Power (DWP) over the damage their home and property suffered in the disaster.
Spencer and Heidi filed their lawsuit earlier this week alleging “inverse condemnation,” which compensates property owners for damage caused by public use. In the lawsuit, the couple (and other property owners) claim that the city and the DWP’s operation of its water supply and related infrastructure are to blame for the damage sustained to their property.
The lawsuit specifically cites reports of the Santa Ynez Reservoir– the 117-million gallon reservoir intended to serve Pacific Palisades– of being “offline and emptied” prior to January 7 when the wildfire erupted.
According to TMZ, Spencer and Heidi claim that, because the reservoir had been empty for months leading up to when the fire ignited, the flow of water to fire hydrants and tankers in the Palisades was limited, noting in their lawsuit that firefighters claimed to have run out of water while trying to fight the fires.
Spencer and Heidi also allege that the DWP had drained the reservoir in an attempt to save costs as the facility was reportedly seeking bids for repairs. They are also blaming the DWP and L.A. for a faulty water system design that they believe was not equipped to effectively fight wildfires– an argument the reality stars claim city officials have admitted to in recent weeks.
The L.A. Times reports that the DWP explained in a press release that the Santa Ynez Reservoir was taken out of service in order to meet safe drinking water regulations, admitting that repairs to the reservoir had been “slowed by the city charter’s competitive business process.” The DWP insists that, as built, the Palisades water system “exceeded state and federal requirements to support the community’s needs.”
Spencer and Heidi (and the other homeowners suing the city and the DWP) are reportedly seeking an amount in damages that is to be determined at trial. (The defendants involved are seeking to recover the costs of repairing or replacing their lost or destroyed property, as well as lost wages/business profits, legal costs and living expenses stemming from the disaster.)
In addition to seeking compensation from the city and the DWP, Spencer and Heidi have been heavily promoting Heidi’s music on social media– specifically Heidi’s 2012 album Superficial– as a way to raise funds to help them rebuild what was lost in the wildfire. Spencer recently revealed in an interview with Variety that he had made well over $20,000 on TikTok since kicking off his campaign to get Heidi’s pop tunes to the top of the charts.
Spencer and Heidi have also received generous donations from fans and friends through a GoFundMe that was launched by a close friend of the couple shortly after they lost their home.
“ … The money will go directly to them and will be used at their discretion to rebuild their lives,” the organizer of the fundraiser shared on the GoFundMe page. “They need to buy everything, clothes, food, household items, etc.”
As of Friday afternoon, Spencer and Heidi’s GoFundMe sits at nearly $140,000.
(Photos: MTV; Instagram; TikTok; GoFundMe)
19 Responses
The environmental and political policies ruined this state. They used to have fire breakers on the hills in the 70’s. Apparently they interfered with mice migration so they removed them, (prob ugly) but every year we burn our dry brush and fields in the Midwest. Everyone should’ve been prepared for this. It’s pure and complete incompetence
These people area killing me. He likes the attention for sure. The money that was donated could have helped a lot of other people that need that money more than them. They have the means to make money to rebuild so them asking for money blows my mind.
Spencer going off on x about how he wouldn’t let Heidi do anything bravo related is HILARIOUS. This man would sh*T in the street if someone offered to pay him. Let’s not pretend you’ve got any scruples 😂
These fires are their new business. Not surprising!
I’m sorry for anyone losing their home, but the way he hawked Heidi’s music and threatened those who did not hype it, was annoying. He’s always been fame-hungry, and he is taking full advantage of this sudden notoriety ad nauseum. Everyone rich or poor who lost a home should get in on a class action lawsuit. I can’t help but feel Spencer is seeing this as a way back into the spotlight and more money than he had before the fire. I bet he’ll be begging for a reality show before long, “Speidi Rebuilds.”
Sorry to inform you but he already has been begging Hulu for a reality show about his family, that NO ONE WANTS TO SEE. he is and has always been a thief, crook, a liar and a discussing person.
Does the kids act like their father?
These two are complete morons who don’t realize that even if they win (collectively) the lawsuit (see below), their amount will be greatly reduced by the provable amounts they have already received/have promised through various donations and such. This is what happens when two people have more money than sense but think they’re smart so they try to dip into every cookie jar possible thinking it’s perfectly fine to do so. They’re in for a rude awakening when they realize their portion of a settlement/judgment will be reduced to far less than what everyone else *might get. This is one of those instances where numerous sources of compensation will come back to bite them in the ass. He’s already opened his big yap up about it, so he’s only hurting himself anyway.
The lawsuit is quite likely to be won, or at least settled, partly because the others involved do have more sense (and yes even money to throw at it), but also partly because there is fault to be placed on the defendants in the case. There is a lot of fault to go around out there when it comes to the damage caused by the fires and the response(s) to it. This isn’t the first and won’t be the last lawsuit, either. Likely most will settle, but some will actually go before a judge, potentially a jury too, eventually. Even with settlement they are likely to be years long processes, but if it goes to an actual trial, much longer. In either case, they aren’t getting this immediate compensation they think they are-and that part is pretty funny, imo.
They have to sue because no one wanted to donate to them & their threats to call out other celebrities online for not supporting them didn’t pan out well for them so now they have to sue because they refuse to get real jobs.
Not true, these two con artists already have over 300 thousand in their go fund me donations plus 6,000 raised on tictoc plus spencer is now asking people to donate directly to him.
Their gofundme is at 140K, not 300K. It’s disgusting but not sure where you’re getting 300K from.
Can I put the site on here?
Yes, you are right $300,000 was the goal but, also after passing up the $140,000 they were told to quit showing how much money they have raised to date from their Go Fund Me, Tic Tok, and Heidi’s music. But, as we all know it is so hard for Spencer to keep his mouth shut so we will see. Read their interview with Variety, also Avril Levine just donated a good amount to them and is supposedly going to release a song with Heidi.
Gross.
Gross. People should be donating their money (if they can afford it) to all the average Joes that worked hard all their life to live there and haven’t made millions over the years fame whoring on tv and social media. I have no problem with the lawsuit – the Go Fund Me is gross and totally on brand for them.
This should be more than enough of a reason to people, to not give them ONE more dime. Period. They are trash. They have raked in so much money- even IF they have lost everything. And now they are going to sue the City as if they had the ultimate control of this, and, while others should do the same?! Unreal!
I hope they have the sense to vote in their local and state elections and help get rid of the elected officials whose irresponsibility resulted in this catastrophe.
Dirty filthy bastard already raked in more than 300,000. When he heard that over $200 million was already raised to help out victims from the fire he hightailed it to file his suit.
They are disgusting