L.A. Mayor's brother joins fire victims suing the city Play

The brother of the mayor of Los Angeles has joined thousands of Palisades fire survivors in suing the city after his home burned down in Malibu.

Kenneth Bass and his wife, Cindy, lost their home on Rambla Pacifico. Their lawsuit, like thousands of others, claims that negligence by the city of L.A. caused the fire. It names Karen Bass as a defendant.

"There is nothing new here," is the official response from the city of L.A.'s press secretary. Paige Sterling said, "Mayor Bass has spoken of her brother's loss publicly since January of 2025. Thousands of people are plaintiffs in this action, which names 18 public and private sector defendants."

Bass has publicly talked about the loss of a family home in Malibu several times since the fire hit 18 months ago. "It's hit my family too," she told residents of Pacific Palisades. "My brother, who has lived in Malibu for 40 years, been through many fires, evacuated many times — this time didn't get away."

Kenneth Bass is apparently getting in line with thousands of other fire victims in suing the city of L.A. Also in that line is the City of Malibu, which is already suing Los Angeles for alleged negligent conduct that allowed the fire to smolder for six days and then explode into the monster that took out the eastern one-tenth of our city.

Twelve people were killed directly, seven of them in and near Malibu.