Second Phase to Begin in Suit Over Brush Fire

Attorneys will present arguments today in Burbank Superior Court in the second phase of a $2-million lawsuit against the Los Angeles Department of Water and Power and the City of Los Angeles, alleging that the DWP caused a fire that destroyed several homes and damaged dozens of others.

The suit stems from a 1980 fire that swept through Sunland, Tujunga, Sun Valley and Burbank. The homeowners and insurance companies, which paid claims to more than 100 customers in fire-damaged areas, charge that the fire was caused by DWP power lines.

A 12-member jury Tuesday rejected claims in the lawsuit that the lines created a “substantial risk” to homeowners because they were in a “dangerous and defective condition.” The jury’s unanimous decision came after 15 days of testimony by nearly 40 residents and experts.

Judge Thomas C. Murphy must now consider a separate charge of “inverse condemnation” contained in the suit. California Fair Plan Assn., West American Insurance Co. and the five homeowners named as plaintiffs in the suit allege that the DWP in effect condemned their property when it allegedly caused the fire. They argue the DWP should therefore provide “just compensation” for the loss of property.

According to reports at the time, the blaze was one of several brush fires that swept through the Southland on Nov. 16, 1980. Winds spread the Tujunga fire south over 11,000 acres, destroying homes and forcing hundreds of residents to evacuate.