Library Fire Figure Sued for $23.6 Million

The Los Angeles city attorney has filed a $23.6-million civil lawsuit against the man once arrested in connection with the devastating April, 1986, Central Library fire.

The city action is a cross-complaint to a suit brought by Harry Peak, who was arrested, but never prosecuted, for allegedly touching off the $22-million fire. Peak is suing the city for false imprisonment and seven other charges, and Fire Department Battalion Chief Dean Cathey for slander.

Peak, who could not be reached for comment Thursday, was arrested Feb. 27, 1987, after a 10-month investigation by arson investigators. They said Peak matched witnesses’ descriptions of a man seen entering an area where the fire began. Peak gave conflicting statements when questioned and failed a polygraph test, investigators said.

No Charges Filed

The district attorney’s office, however, refused to file charges against Peak, who was released three days later.

Although the investigation has been closed, Peak, 29, remains a suspect, Cathey said Thursday.

The city’s civil suit asks for $20 million for the loss of about 375,000 volumes destroyed in the blaze, $2 million in damages to the building itself, $675,000 to pay for 350 firefighters who battled the fire and reimbursement for 3 million gallons of water used.

Although the evidence obtained against Peak was not enough for a criminal charge, Deputy City Atty. Victoria Chaney said, it would be enough to win a civil action.

“(In a civil suit) you have the same evidence but it’s used differently and presented differently,” Chaney said. Unlike a criminal proceeding, for example, only nine jurors decide liability based on “a preponderance of the evidence,” instead of 12 who must decide guilt “beyond a reasonable doubt.”

“We think we have sufficient evidence to make this a valid cross-complaint and sufficient evidence to win,” Chaney said.

The Central Library has been closed since the initial fire in April, 1986, and a subsequent blaze in September of that year which caused an additional $2 million in damage. Peak is not a suspect in the second fire and his attorney, Leonard Martinet of San Francisco, was out of town Thursday and did not respond to messages left by The Times.

On Wednesday, library officials approved the Design Center in downtown Los Angeles as a site for a temporary library that would house the remaining 1.1 million books until the main library reopens in about 4 1/2 years.