Partner Cyrus E. Shahriari is lead counsel in a civil lawsuit recently filed in Los Angeles County Superior Court on behalf of eleven artists who lost sculptures, murals, paintings, equipment, and personal mementos in a devastating commercial building fire.
On June 8, 2021, a three-story commercial building on the 200 block of S. Los Angeles Street in downtown LA, which housed the Little Tokyo Art Complex, caught fire, destroying the studio space for numerous emerging cultural artists.
The artists are suing to hold the building’s owner, L for Lofts, LLC, accountable for failing to take precautions to prevent widespread destruction that impacted the careers and livelihoods of many working artists. The Los Angeles Fire Department reported that it took more than 150 firefighters to extinguish the fire, which involved an explosion and a massive ball of flames.
While miraculously there were no injuries, the plaintiffs are suing the defendant company for damages arising from the fire’s devastating financial and emotional impact. According to the complaint, some plaintiffs saw what amounted to their entire life’s work go up in smoke.
Plaintiff Paul Juno, a multimedia artist, spent seven years working in his Little Tokyo Art Complex studio, where he honed his craft by collaborating with others. “Losing nearly ten years of work is devastating. The art was an extension of myself so losing it was like losing a part of me,” said Juno.
Plaintiff Surge Witron, known for creating large acrylic gestural abstract paintings, worked in two studios in the building over the past six years. “It impacted me emotionally because I lost a whole body of work, not just materials but an archive of artwork, research, and indicators of things I’ve done in my art practice. It’s painful thinking about not having anything to show for it because I lost about nine years of work to the fire,” said Witron.
Plaintiff Hedy Torres, a Mexican immigrant who also works as an advocate for the homeless, moved into her studio three months before the fire and lost five years of paintings, a projector, and many materials. “Remembering that night makes me want to cry. It really hurts so much. I was like, oh my God, what am I going to say? What am I going to do?” recalled Torres.
Plaintiff Emily Dobbs recently finished a show called “Identity Dysmorphia,” a theory she cultivated about displaced individuals surrounding their cultural backgrounds. The fire destroyed all the art in that exhibit. “I stopped making art for about eight months after the fire because I had this irrational fear that everything I make is just going to disappear and get destroyed. That’s not a logical fear to have. But it just kind of stuck to me like this fear,” said Dobbs.
Native Angeleno Jesse Fregozo focuses his art on the struggles of marginalized communities. He described the fire as leading him “into the darkest, most horrifying path” of his life. “I can say this was the worst kind of loss. Even if my house burned down, it’s just material stuff. But an art studio is much more intimate. It’s like the stuff you cannot redo. The work will never be the same,” said Plaintiff Jesse Fregozo.
Beyond lost sketchbooks and artwork, plaintiff Kent Yoshimura misses the personal connections he made in the artist community. “We lost a place where we could freely be creative, bounce ideas off each other in a fully creative and unhinged way, and that is now gone. So that’s disruptive. I feel like I’ve just become a little distant from art, typically the last few months,” said Yoshimura.
The lawsuit contends that L for Lofts LLC failed to ensure sufficient fire sprinklers, smoke detectors, fire alarms, fire extinguishers, and other fire prevention measures were in good working condition in the building at the time of the fire. The complaint also states the defendant company knowingly permitted highly flammable, combustible, or explosive materials to be utilized or stored on the premises.
“This fire was a direct result of negligence and recklessness of the building’s owners who failed to install the equipment necessary to protect against or mitigate the risk of fire danger,” said Mr. Shahriari. “We hope this lawsuit brings answers and a sense of justice for our clients who are still reeling from their losses.”
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