Democratic Los Angeles Mayor Karen Bass is now watching her own brother take the city she leads to court over the devastating 2025 Palisades fires that destroyed his Malibu home.
According to the Daily Caller, Kenneth Bass and his wife, Cindy Bass, filed suit in May, alleging they suffered severe injuries from smoke inhalation, emotional distress, mental anguish, and annoyance as a result of the blaze. The couple are part of a broad group of local residents seeking damages, underscoring how the fires fallout has reached deep into the citys political establishment as well as its neighborhoods.
The case was first brought to light by L.A. Material, highlighting the unusual spectacle of the mayors own family joining a mass action against City Hall. Court filings describe the couples oceanfront residence as a total burn down, and records show they sold the ruined property for $2 million a few months after the fire.
Bass office has attempted to downplay the significance of the lawsuit, insisting it is just one among thousands. Theres nothing new here, Bass office told TMZ. Mayor Bass has spoken of her brothers loss publicly since January of 2025. Thousands of people are plaintiffs in this action, which names 18 public and private sector defendants. The City Attorneys Office is responsible for defending the City and DWP in this lawsuit.
The Palisades Fire, driven by fierce Santa Ana winds, scorched more than 2,900 acres and forced some 30,000 residents to evacuate, even as another major blaze raged near Eaton Canyon in Altadena. While Californians endured chaos and loss, Bass drew heavy criticism for being out of town at the critical moment, choosing to attend a presidential inauguration in Ghana rather than remain in Los Angeles to manage the crisis firsthand.
Despite the controversy, Bass cruised through the Los Angeles mayoral primary with 34.3% of the vote, securing a spot in the November runoff. Progressive city councilwoman Nithya Raman, initially trailing reality television personality Spencer Pratt on election night, ultimately surged to second place with 29% after late-arriving mail-in ballots were tallied, while Pratt was pushed into third with 25.5% and eliminated.
Raman and Bass are now set for a November 3 showdown that will test whether voters are willing to overlook the mayors absence during a major disaster and the spectacle of her own brother suing the city she governs. For many Angelenos frustrated with progressive leadership, the Palisades fires, the mass litigation, and the mayors priorities abroad rather than at home have become emblematic of a broader crisis of accountability in Democratic-run cities.
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