Reality TV couple Heidi Montag and Spencer Pratt are suing the city of Los Angeles after losing their Pacific Palisades home in the California wildfires in recent weeks.
The celebrity couple, who rose to stardom on The Hills, a spin-off of Laguna Beach, filed the lawsuit on Tuesday along with more than 20 other property owners and residents who were affected by the Palisades Fire.
The complaint blames Los Angeles and its municipal water department for the water issues that hampered firefighting efforts and says it ultimately led to the damage to their properties.
The loss of life and property puts the blazes among the most destructive fires in Californian history.
There has been intense scrutiny over hydrants running dry and problems with water pressure during the recent California fires, which has led to a barrage of lawsuits against the city and the Los Angeles Department of Water and Power.
California Governor Gavin Newsom has called for an independent investigation into the Los Angeles water utility over the issues.
The complaint filed by the couple and others mentions that the Santa Ynez Reservoir, which services the Pacific Palisades neighbourhood, had needed repairs and had been taken out of commission in February 2024.
The hydrants in the neighbourhood were connected to three tanks that held 3.7 million litres of water each.
The tanks went dry within 12 hours, the complaint said, citing Janisse Quinones, the water utility’s chief executive and chief engineer.
A firefighter battles the Palisades Fire on January 11 (Jae C. Hong, File/AP)
Without water from the reservoir, firefighters had to primarily rely on the water tanks, which were not designed to fight such a large fire, the complaint said.
The city and water utility did not immediately respond to emailed requests for comment.
While the repairs to the reservoir were requested in January 2024, the water utility told the Los Angeles Times they would not be completed until April or May 2025.
The lawsuit called the Palisades Fire an “inescapable and unavoidable consequence” of the water system operated by the city and water utility.
“The system necessarily failed, and this failure was a substantial factor in causing plaintiffs to suffer the losses alleged in this complaint,” it said.
The plaintiffs cite the principle known as “ inverse condemnation,” which is the same mechanism that requires utilities to pay for wildfire damages caused by their equipment.
They have also appeared on the US version of I’m A Celebrity… Get Me Out Of Here!, while Montag appeared on MTV’s The Hills since its beginning in 2006, and Pratt joined a year later in 2007, with both lasting until its final season in 2010.
The reality series follows the everyday lives of several young women and men living in Los Angeles.