Lineage filed suit in Los Angeles Superior Court against Altus Power and Pearce Services, alleging negligence caused a June 17 fire that destroyed a 500,000-square-foot temperature-controlled warehouse in Boyle Heights. Los Palos Street Operating, an Altus subsidiary, leased the roof from Lineage to operate a solar-panel array. Lineage claims the fire started while Pearce employees performed maintenance on the panels. Millions of pounds of fresh and frozen food rotted after the blaze, triggering neighborhood complaints, citations and lawsuits over odors and pests.
Lineage seeks more than $1 billion in damages, including property and reputational losses, cleanup costs and settlements from resident lawsuits alleging health concerns. Altus and Pearce both dispute the claims. Altus called Lineage’s allegations misinformation and said the cold-storage operator bears legal responsibility for site remediation. Pearce said investigation into the fire’s cause remains ongoing and it plans to defend itself in court.
Lineage’s suit alleges the rooftop solar array sparked a smaller fire in August 2024. Many warehouse operators have installed rooftop solar panels over the past decade to cut energy costs and reduce emissions. Walmart sued Tesla in 2019 over solar panels that allegedly sparked fires on store roofs, a case the companies settled months later.
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