ArtCenter Drops Suit vs. Contractors Over Hillside Fire

The ArtCenter College of Design has dropped its lawsuit against a general contractor and a subcontractor company for allegedly causing a fire near its hillside campus in 2021 that resulted in landscape damage and the temporary shutdown of the campus.

The Los Angeles Superior Court lawsuit was brought by the Pasadena- based school against Halsted Construction Inc. and Platinum Drywall Corp., alleging breach of contract and negligence. On Wednesday, school attorneys filed court papers with Judge Joseph Lipner asking that the suit be dismissed “with prejudice,” meaning it cannot be refiled.

The court papers do not state whether a settlement was reached or if the school is not pursuing the case for other reasons. However, the attorneys notified the judge in October 2023 that a mediator had been selected.

The ArtCenter and Halsted agreed in March 2021 for the contractor to renovate the Ahmanson Auditorium on the campus grounds, according to the suit, which further states that the school believes Halsted subsequently entered a subcontracting agreement with Platinum Drywall.

During the course of the work, the two companies allegedly caused a fire on the hillside next to the Lida Street school on June 17, 2021, causing extensive damage to the landscape and irrigation system as well as forcing the school to temporarily close, according to the suit filed in October 2022.

“Although the Art Center has repeatedly demanded that defendants remedy the damages that they caused, (they) … have failed and refused to do so and have committed additional breaches, resulting in further damage to the ArtCenter,” the suit stated.

Photographer/environmentalist Ansel Adams is a former member of the ArtCenter faculty, and director Michael Bay is a past student.