Kenneth Bass, 78, the older brother of Los Angeles Mayor Karen Bass, who is seeking re-election, was among the plaintiffs in a class-action complaint against the city and state of California. The lawsuit stems from last year's fires in the Pacific Palisades area, which, among others, burned down the home of Bass and his wife, reports LA Material.
The January 2025 fires, with two main fires in the Pacific Palisades Fire and the Altadina Fire, were the most destructive in Los Angeles County history, killing more than 30 people. Karen Bass said last year that her family had been affected by the tragedy. In the wake of the disaster, the mayor faced criticism for her absence from work (she was on a foreign visit to Ghana at the time of the fires) as well as cuts in fire department spending.
Despite the situation, earlier in June, Bass was the first to advance through the primary for this November's election. Later, based on the results of the calculations, it became known that another democrat, local legislator Nithya Raman, would become her competitor. Republican Spencer Pratt, who also criticized City Hall's handling of the fires, failed to make it past the election, which is held under California law on a nonpartisan basis.
As LA Material notes, the complaint by Bass' brother and his wife Cindy was joined in May to one large lawsuit, into which a local court consolidated thousands of other similar appeals. The main defendant in this case is the Department of Water and Power. He was accused of creating a water supply network with low pressure that was unsuitable for such emergencies, as well as an electrical network that was unsafe in hot conditions and a high fire hazard.
Kenneth Bass and his wife noted in their complaint that the fire destroyed their Malibu home, where the fire spread from nearby Pacific Palisades. ABC7, which also reviewed the lawsuit, adds that the couple described the condition of the house as “burnt to the ground.” They emphasized that they themselves suffered “smoke inhalation” and suffered “emotional damage.”
It is not specified what compensation the mayor's brother expects from the authorities. LA Material notes that Bass was able to sell the plot where the house was located for $2 million. It is known that the man owns a business renovating and furnishing kitchens. In December 2025 – that is, after the fires – he donated $500 to his sister’s election campaign.
Neither Kenneth Bass nor his sister personally commented on the situation, but their representatives emphasized that the lawsuit is not politically motivated. The mayor's spokeswoman, Paige Sterling, told ABC7 that thousands of people have filed lawsuits, and the law firm handling the case called their client's family ties “irrelevant” to the case.
