LAFD couldn’t determine what caused the Lineage fire. City attorney candidates want to investigate

This story first appeared on The LA Local.

Los Angeles fire investigators stopped short of identifying what caused the June fire at the Lineage warehouse in Boyle Heights. The news this week leaves the question of who will ultimately be held responsible for the costly cleanup and harm suffered by residents unresolved.

People affected by the fire want the city to help recover their costs and hold companies involved accountable for the damage done. They also want stronger protections in place against similar crises in the future.

Mayor Karen Bass and the City Council have repeatedly asked the Los Angeles City Attorney’s Office to advise them on what legal options are available.

Three months after the fire sent toxic smoke into the air and left 88 million pounds of rotting food to be removed, it’s unclear what, if anything, the city attorney’s office has done in response to those requests.

A City Council motion shows that City Attorney Hydee Feldstein Soto was supposed to brief the council within 15 days in closed session about possible litigation. She has yet to do so, and when she does, it’s unlikely the public will be provided the report or a summary of its details.

Councilmember Ysabel Jurado ushered that motion through the City Council, asking the city attorney to report in closed session what legal options are available, including potential civil claims, cost-recovery strategies and action against Lineage Logistics or any other responsible party. Her spokesperson said the City Council has not received that report.

When asked about this, a spokesperson for Feldstein Soto told The LA Local, “We do not comment on pending investigations or litigation.” When we followed up, they stopped responding.

The city attorney’s powers are no secret, and both candidates for city attorney say the office should be more transparent. They have also vowed to take a more public approach to holding Lineage and other companies accountable for the fire if elected. 

So, what can the city attorney do?

The Los Angeles city attorney is an independent elected official who does not report directly to the mayor. The mayor and City Council can ask the city attorney to investigate or pursue litigation, but the city attorney has the final say. 

The office is responsible for prosecuting some misdemeanor crimes, providing legal advice to elected officials and city agencies, defending the city in civil litigation and reviewing possible policy changes when needed.

California’s unfair competition law gives the city attorney the authority to investigate businesses believed to have broken the law, deceived the public or engaged in unfair practices. The city attorney can proactively investigate those concerns. The law also allows the city attorney to pursue unfair competition cases on behalf of Californians.

Those vying to be the next city attorney say they will use that authority to pursue an investigation of the Lineage warehouse fire. 

Marissa Roy, one of two candidates for city attorney, has worked in civil rights and corporate accountability law for both the Los Angeles City Attorney’s Office and the California Department of Justice. She has worked on cases ranging from small-business wage theft to California’s $17 billion settlement with tech giant Meta. 

Marissa Roy is running for Los Angeles city attorney.

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Courtesy of the Marissa Roy campaign

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John McKinney, who currently serves as a deputy district attorney, is running against Roy.

Roy said she would have publicly announced an investigation into the cause of the fire on day one, and plans to if elected. That investigation would center on who started the fire, if building conditions might have made the fire worse or more difficult to put out and if the companies involved deceived the public about what they knew about the fire and its hazards.

“The decision whether or not to investigate Lineage Logistics and associated companies and to begin this type of litigation lies with one elected official alone: the city attorney,” Roy told The LA Local.

John McKinney is running for Los Angeles city attorney.

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Courtesy of the John McKinney campaign

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McKinney also said he would publicly announce an investigation if elected, adding that the people living in this neighborhood should not have to fight for justice on their own.

“My office will work with investigators to examine every potential violation, including applicable fire, building, safety and hazardous-material laws,” he told The LA Local. “If the evidence supports criminal charges, we will pursue them.”

What the law says about corporate accountability

The law empowers the city attorney to pursue accountability from companies that have harmed the people of L.A. But it doesn’t end there. If the investigation finds a broader pattern of misconduct outside city limits, the city attorney can investigate that too.

“These kinds of actions are not just for the people of the city but for people all over the state,” said Ted Mermin, executive director of UC Berkeley’s Center for Consumer Law and Economic Justice. 

Such cases, Mermin added, can lead to restitution for the direct losses people suffered, a court order for companies to make corrective actions to the way they do business and civil fines to pay for remediation and future enforcement efforts.

“The whole goal of that lawsuit would be to prevent any of the responsible companies from engaging in negligent behavior or unlawful behavior again, but then also to win back recovery that could be reinvested in communities,” Roy said.

If this suit is successful, any damages won from the suit could fund future greening projects, pollution cleanup and projects that build health resources for the communities that were harmed, Roy added.

McKinney similarly said that the goal of such a suit would be to aid the communities most harmed. 

“We will also use every appropriate civil, environmental and public-nuisance remedy to compel a timely cleanup, recover public costs and ensure those responsible—not the community—pay for remediation and recovery,” McKinney added.

What could accountability look like for the Lineage fire?  

Who is responsible for the fire is still openly being debated. After the cleanup was finished, Lineage Logistics sued solar contractors, Altus Power and Pearce Services, which it claims are responsible for the fire. Those companies denied the allegations.

LAFD concluded its investigation on Tuesday and reported that the fire appeared to have started on the roof of the building near electrical equipment but did not determine what caused it. 

The city attorney, however, can open a broader investigation into the conduct of businesses and their leadership before and after the fire. The Los Angeles City Attorney’s Office has pursued similar cases in the past.

In 2015, Los Angeles City Attorney Mike Feuer sued Wells Fargo over allegations it incentivized bankers to fraudulently open accounts to boost its numbers. It resulted in a $185 million settlement with the city. The U.S. Attorney’s Office eventually found similar fraud by the bank around the country, leading to a $3 billion settlement and more consumer protections.

Feldstein Soto has pursued cases under unfair competition law in the past. She filed a suit against a group of companies alleged to have operated a short-term rental price-gouging operation about two months after the 2025 wildfires. The suit is ongoing.

Meanwhile, Angelenos affected have filed individual and class-action lawsuits against Lineage and related businesses in a piecemeal attempt to recover damages for the harm they experienced.

But no focused legal effort has been publicly launched by the city attorney in connection with the Lineage warehouse fire. 

Roy said the city is not using all of its resources to lead amid the crisis that unfolded when the fire broke out.

“The full potential of the City Attorney’s Office is exactly in these situations where we can vigorously hold corporations accountable for endangering our communities,” Roy said. “That’s how we prevent this in the future, how we are able to make people whole, and are able to address the harm they’ve experienced.”

McKinney said the city attorney’s response to the fire has not been fast enough.

“When a company’s conduct puts people’s health, homes, businesses or quality of life at risk, the City Attorney must act decisively,” he said. “As a career prosecutor, I believe the City must follow the evidence wherever it leads, enforce the law without fear or favor, and pursue every available remedy against those legally responsible.”

Roy said that too often the most vulnerable Angelenos have been left to fend for themselves in moments of crisis. Corporate pollution, she said, isn’t just an environmental justice issue. “It’s a racial justice issue and it’s an economic justice issue.”

“These communities are communities that have been consistently ignored and underserved,” Roy added. “And it’s not fair to continue to expect them to take on some of the largest companies in the country.”