Downtown Los Angeles High Rise Developer to Pay $400K for Blaze

The owner of a huge apartment complex that went up in flames in downtown Los Angeles will pay the city $400,000 to settle a $20 million lawsuit.

The Los Angeles Daily News reported the City Council this week approved a settlement with Geoffrey H. Palmer over the 2014 blaze at the Da Vinci Apartments.

The city already received $62 million from the insurance carrier.

The arson fire engulfed the 1.3 million-square-foot complex, which was unfinished. Heat cracked or shattered hundreds of windows in nearby city buildings, which also received water damage from sprinklers.

The city attorney’s office sued, claiming Palmer and his company used defective construction methods and the project lacked proper fire protection.

The arsonist pleaded no contest in April and was sentenced to 15 years in prison.