Spencer Pratt and Heidi Montag have sued the city of Los Angeles and the Department of Water and Power after losing their home in the Palisades Fire.
According to court documents obtained by Fox News Digital, the reality stars are alleging “inverse condemnation,” a legal concept that allows property owners to seek compensation when the government damages property.
“The Hills” alums filed the suit with 20 other property owners Jan. 21, blaming the City of Los Angeles and the utility company for causing damage to their homes.
The document cited reports that the Santa Ynez Reservoir was emptied Jan. 7 before the Palisades Fire. The Santa Ynez Reservoir is close to the Pacific Palisades neighborhood in Los Angeles.
Pratt, Montag and the other plaintiffs accuse LADWP of making “the conscious decision to operate the water supply system with the reservoir drained and unusable as a ‘cost-saving’ measure.”
“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 complaint said.
The document noted that the system, built by the City of Los Angeles and LADWP, “failed,” causing the plaintiffs to lose their homes.
“On information and belief, the Palisades Fire was an inescapable and unavoidable consequence of the water supply system servicing areas in and around Pacific Palisades as it was planned and constructed,” the complaint states.
“The system necessarily failed, and this failure was a substantial factor in causing Plaintiffs to suffer the losses alleged in this Complaint.”
The LADWP shared a press release saying the Santa Ynez Reservoir needed to be emptied “to meet safe drinking water regulations and that repair work was slowed by the city charter’s competitive bidding process.”
According to the complaint, the plaintiffs are seeking an amount in damages that will be determined at trial.
“Plaintiffs have suffered real and personal property damage, personal injuries, loss of use of their homes, loss of income, business interruption, and emotional distress and seek fair compensation for themselves in this case caused by Defendants.
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“Plaintiffs are entitled to recover all litigation costs and expenses with regard to the compensation for damage to properties, including attorney’s fees, expert fees, consulting fees and litigation costs.”
Pratt and Montag have been outspoken since losing their home in the LA fires earlier this month.
The couple sat down with “Good Morning America” and spoke about the shock of their loss.
“Spencer was like, ‘Grab anything you want to keep,’ and I was like, ‘How do you choose?’ My brain actually stopped working because I was so overwhelmed with so many things you can’t replace. So, I grabbed my kids’ teddy bears,” Montag said through tears.
Pratt added, “The worst was … our kids’ room. That is so magical. We do story time every night. It’s such our routine. So much love is in there. Our son’s bed started burning in the shape of a heart. The fire just started as a heart. I was like, ‘This is out of body, insane.’”
The couple said their home and possessions were uninsured and noted they were among many Southern California residents who were dropped from their insurance policies.
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As Montag explained to the outlet, “We were ‘house poor’ as they call it. We have a house, and everything else is a hustle, is a grind. So, we’re definitely counting every dollar that we make.”
Representatives for Montag and Pratt did not immediately respond to Fox News Digital’s request for comment.
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