A judge has given a “complex” designation to a lawsuit filed against Lineage Logistics Inc. by residents of multiple communities who allege their lives have been negatively impacted by the June fire at the company’s cold storage warehouse in Boyle Heights.
The Los Angeles Superior Court lawsuit filed July 29 seeks unspecified compensatory and punitive damages while alleging public nuisance, negligence-based claims, trespass and premises liability. The plaintiffs include Alicia Bonilla, Francisco Plascencia Ramirez and Esperanza Plascencia, all of whom live at the same Indiana Street residence in Boyle Heights. Other plaintiffs live in East Los Angeles, Commerce and Montebello.
Although co-defendant Altus Power Inc. filed court papers on Aug. 3 to remove the case to federal court, on Aug. 18 Superior Court Judge Samantha Jessner ruled that the lawsuit was “complex” and assigned the case to Judge Bruce G. Iwasaki. Jessner placed the case on hold pending the initial status conference before Iwasaki. A date is still pending.
A “complex” designation by the Los Angeles Superior Court means a lawsuit requires specialized, active judicial management to handle unusual difficulties, large volumes of evidence or numerous parties. Numerous applications for guardianships have been filed on behalf of plaintiffs in the case who are minors.
According to the suit, the fire and the resulting smoke, ash, soot, airborne particulate, toxic combustion byproducts and anhydrous ammonia and other harmful chemical releases forced the residents to shelter in place and/or evacuate their homes. The residents have suffered coughing, wheezing, shortness of breath, chest tightness, persistent headaches and burning, watering, redness and irritation of the eyes, according to the suit.
The plaintiffs’ homes were inundated by flies, insects, rodents and other vermin, depriving them in varying degrees of the safe and habitable use of the residences, the suit further states.
The fire broke out June 17 at the warehouse at 1400 S. Los Palos St., sending thick smoke into the air and prompting officials to warn nearby residents to remain indoors. The city, county and state issued local emergency declarations in the days that followed.
It took more than a week to fully douse the fire, though the smell of massive amounts of rotten food from inside the building remains a nuisance for neighbors.
The cause of the fire remains under investigation, although Lineage officials have said they believe it started while a subcontractor for Altus Power, which owns the rooftop solar array, was testing the system. Altus Power has said the cause has not been determined.
The proposed class of plaintiffs is made up of people who live, were present or own property in the areas affected by the evacuation and shelter-in-place orders as well as the air quality warnings.
In August 2024, another solar panel fire broke out on the roof of the Lineage warehouse, which is located in a densely populated area surrounded by homes, apartments, schools, businesses and community spaces, making the consequences of a catastrophic incident “foreseeably devastating,” the suit alleges.