January 18, 2025 • 37 mins
Tiffany Hobbs begins the show with a preview of iHeart Radio's special California Townhall featuring Governor Gavin Newsom this Sunday. She discusses the Governor’s opportunity to address questions from wildfire-impacted Californians and speculates on the pressing issues he’ll face.
As LA braces for more fire weather next week and begins to recover, Tiffany highlights the latest developments, including the naming of a new Assistant Fire Chief. She’s joined by attorney Lou Shapiro, who provides valuable advice to wildfire victims navigating insurance challenges and other legal hurdles, continuing the conversation on recovery and accountability throughout the hour.
As LA braces for more fire weather next week and begins to recover, Tiffany highlights the latest developments, including the naming of a new Assistant Fire Chief. She’s joined by attorney Lou Shapiro, who provides valuable advice to wildfire victims navigating insurance challenges and other legal hurdles, continuing the conversation on recovery and accountability throughout the hour.
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Episode Transcript
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Speaker 1 (00:00):
You're listening to KFI AM six forty on demand KFI.
Speaker 2 (00:05):
AM six forty live everywhere from the iHeartRadio at Tiffany
Hobbs here with you. It's Saturday with Tiffany, and I'll
be with you until seven pm. What an emotional broadcast
from Amy King. If you were listening to Amy, she
filled in for Neil Savedra, who is still nursing an illness,
(00:26):
and she did the fork report from the Dream Center La,
Dream Center La. You've likely heard quite a few people
on the station talking about the Dream Center. If you haven't,
then you certainly, certainly should become well acquainted with this
beautiful organization. Amy was there and I was listening, and
(00:47):
as soon as she began at two pm, she came in.
She introduced the show, and upon the very first line,
her voice cracked. And it was because she was so
overwhelmed with emotion and she was trying to, you know,
put on put on her radio, her radio readiness, and
(01:08):
and give you the show and and and not stumble
over anything. But her humanity took over as it should,
and she got emotional. And while I was listening, I
was emotional right along with her, and I don't know
if you've experienced the same thing, But in this last
ten days eleven days, there have been times when the
(01:30):
emotion around what's going on with the fires has surprised me.
My own reaction has surprised me. I've been stoic. I've
been you know, nose to the ground and helpful and
wanting to figure out how to contribute and to be supportive.
And then in those quiet moments when you really take
(01:51):
in the severity and the gravity of everything that has
happened in such a short period of time and to
so many people, it is absolutely overwhelming. And I cannot
imagine that if I'm overwhelmed from this side of reality,
(02:12):
what people are going through now as they move into
the next phases of this incredible disaster. Tonight, on the show,
like I said, I'm here with you until seven, we'll
talk a bit about the Dream Center, just to start,
and want to reintroduce some of the things that they
need down there at the Dream Center, and how iHeartRadio
(02:34):
is pairing with the organization and why we're also going
to talk to at five point thirty Lou Shapiro, who
is a lawyer. He has been on KFI numerous times
from handle to John COBALT's show, and he's a friend
of the station, and he gave a wonderful two segments
(02:54):
worth of free information that will help guide people through
this nexta of logistics as they start to piece their
lives back together after these fires. So he'll be with
us at five excuse me, five thirty. And then we
have pet Co Loves Director of Life Saving Chelsea Staley
(03:15):
coming on with us at six pm, and she's gonna
talk to us about how pet Co. You know the store,
pet Co, I love them, you love them. How pet
Co is working so compassionately to reunite pet parents pet
owners with the pets they have lost during this fire.
There are hundreds, if not thousands of pets still unaccounted for,
(03:38):
and pet Co Love is doing just amazing work to
try and help with that reunification. At six point thirty,
we'll have Heather Brooker on. You remember Heather Brooker. We
love Heather. Heather's gonna come on. She was formerly a
part of the KFI News team and she is an
actress extraordinaire. She's forming in a play called Newsies. All
(04:02):
of you Disney people out there might recognize Newsies but
she's performing in a play and that play was preempted
because of the fires, pushed back, but it's rezuoming next weekend,
so Heather's going to be here with us to talk
about that play at six point thirty and just how
timely the kind of main idea or objective of this
(04:25):
play is in relation to what people are dealing with
as they manage this disaster around southern California with the fires.
We're also going to take a look at what we
can possibly expect on day one from the incoming President
Trump presidency or just a few days away. It's all
(04:45):
over the news box is covering it, just wall to
wall with their coverage, and there's a lot to expect.
There's a lot that's been said, a lot of predictions
have been made, and we'll kind of go over what
possibly could happen on that very first day of a
Trump presidency.
Speaker 3 (05:04):
I'll give you some updates.
Speaker 2 (05:05):
On the fires as well, and if we have time,
we'll get into what's going on with Starbucks. Starbucks is
changing something up and I'll try to get into it
in the last segment.
Speaker 3 (05:16):
If I have time.
Speaker 2 (05:17):
We have a very pack show, I'll try and fit
it in if I can, but just to start just
so that we can kind of reiterate what's going on
over there at the Dream Center. The Dream Center is
open Monday through Saturday from twelve pm to seven pm,
and they're not going to be open tomorrow because they're
(05:39):
taking a day off.
Speaker 3 (05:40):
They've been working.
Speaker 2 (05:41):
Around the clock to take donations from all of you
wonderfully generous KFI listeners and iHeart listeners and partners.
Speaker 3 (05:51):
And they need a day.
Speaker 2 (05:53):
They need a day, and they deserve a day, and
they will resume taking donations and resume doling out those
donations to people who need it on Monday and from
Monday until Saturday and thereafter as well. But Monday through
Saturday from twelve pm to seven pm, you can go
down there to the Dream Center and you can donate.
(06:13):
If you are in need, you can go down to
the Dream Center and you can get the support that
you need. You pull up, you literally pop your trunk,
and volunteers will come up to you.
Speaker 3 (06:26):
They might come up to you.
Speaker 2 (06:27):
Before you pop your trunk, but either way, they'll come
up to you and they'll say what do you need?
And that's where you get to be as specific as possible.
You get to tell them what you have to donate,
and these volunteers, these just angels, angels who walk amongst us,
will take what you have, give you what you need,
and send you on into your next chapter. And you
(06:49):
might be compelled to come back, especially if you're donating.
And please do that. The Dream Center is a legitimate organization.
There are questions, of course, around donations. There's a lot
of nefarious people out there who again want you to
part with your money and your resources. The Dream Center
(07:10):
is not one of those organizations. They are as legitimate
as they come. I can vouch for them, having worked
with them twenty years ago during Hurricane Katrina. And the
Dream Center not only connects donations and allocates donations, but
they also serve as a temporary shelter for people who
need housing. They also work to secure long term housing.
(07:32):
They're even opening up their campus to one of the
schools lost in the Altadena fire so that that school
can have a campus for their students to resume all
normal academic and social activities. So the Dream Center is
just one of those places that is a jewel. It
is a jewel on the hill over there at twenty
(07:54):
three to oh one Bellevue Avenue and Echo Park. You
pass it on the one oh one and it's that
huge white building. And iHeartMedia, iHeart radio, all of our
stations and as you see, our anchors, our hosts are
a part of this, and we, together with all of
you Angelinos who are extremely selfless and really showing up
(08:17):
with your empathy and your compassion and your generosity are
directly impacting people who need it. Amy spoke to one
person who described losing his home and seeing it in
his rear view mirror as he drove away. It was
on fire. He was there today with Amy and he
talked about what he was there to get, which was
(08:41):
everything he had nothing and the Dream Center was able
to provide for him what he needed. When we return,
I'll tell you a little bit more about the Dream Center,
and then I'm going to get into something that's happening tomorrow.
It's a special town hall hosted by Gov. Gavin Newsom.
(09:01):
I'll give you the time where you can access this
town hall and what this town hall will be about,
because man, oh man, could it possibly get out of hand?
Speaker 4 (09:14):
Should it?
Speaker 1 (09:15):
Should it?
Speaker 3 (09:16):
And we'll see what we can say about that. When
we return.
Speaker 2 (09:20):
It's KFI AM six forty live everywhere from the iHeartRadio app,
or on the iHeartRadio app, or in your car wherever
you access us.
Speaker 1 (09:28):
You're listening to KFI AM six forty on demand.
Speaker 2 (09:33):
Kf I Am six forty Live everywhere on the iHeartRadio app.
Tiffany Hop's here with you until seven. It's Saturdays with
Tiffany and I was just reminding our listeners of just
how impactful the Dream Center.
Speaker 3 (09:46):
La is.
Speaker 2 (09:47):
I highly encourage all of you to get down there.
Amy King broadcast it live today filling in for the
Fork Report. She was there until five, did the entire
show there and they are there until seven tonight. So
you can take anything that you have that is, I
would say, as close to new, if not new. Do
(10:08):
not take something that you would not want someone to
give you if you were in this situation. Amy spoke
to quite a few people from the Dream Center, including
Pastor Barnett, Fire Captain Kelleher, a director of disaster relief
who we talked to last week on the show, Clint Carlton.
She also spoke to some beneficiaries of your generosity and
(10:29):
what is needed now. What's needed now is not your clothes.
You can hold off on that. There's plenty of places
I'm sure that will still accept it. But the Dream
Center doesn't need your clothes right now. They need sunscreen, chapstick,
bottled water, sports drinks for hydration, hygiene products for men, women,
(10:50):
everything within, baby supplies, air purifiers, masks, pet food and supplies,
pet food for sure, flashlightsies, portable chargers, first aid kits,
cleaning supplies, and heavy duty gloves because in this next phase,
people are getting back out there and they're starting to
(11:12):
clean out what's left, and they do, in fact need
gloves because what's there is toxic and hazard is hazardous,
and you don't want people to have, you know, their
plight compounded. We don't need people getting sick from exposure
while they're out there just trying to literally pick up
the pieces of what's left. So pull up there twenty
(11:35):
three oh one Bellevue Avenue and Echo Park and donate.
If you cannot donate, then donate in person. Then you
can donate online at KFI AM six forty dot com,
backslash donate, backslash donate, and you can give monetarily.
Speaker 3 (11:51):
Whatever you have.
Speaker 2 (11:54):
iHeartRadio is really busy with these fires, we're really jumping
out there in front to support people and to let
people know that they are not alone through this. We
empathize all of us here across the station. We've been
out there as Amy King was today, I plan to
go this Monday. And something else that iHeart is doing
(12:15):
is we are going to be carrying live an opportunity
for people impacted by these fires to ask questions directly
to Governor Newsom tomorrow during a town hall for all
of the fires. So this is an open question town hall.
(12:38):
People will be allowed to ask questions of course, partaking
to what's going on with the fires in LA and
we'll be streaming that and carrying that live tomorrow.
Speaker 3 (12:49):
Sunday at nine a m. Nine am.
Speaker 2 (12:53):
So you definitely definitely want to listen in to that
because I anticipate even more fires, so to speak. And
I don't say that to be funny. I don't say
that to be tongue in cheek. But I don't see
how this could go smoothly. And I get they could
(13:14):
try to carefully curate this, but we've seen town halls before.
You've seen how things can go sideways very quickly, and
in many cases rightfully so, because people want to express
what they feel and they have questions they do not
feel have been answered or are to their liking. And
this is what the opportunity will present tomorrow, people to
(13:37):
be honest and people to speak directly to Governor Gavin
Newsom about their questions some questions I'm anticipating and you
might be thinking the same. What might they ask right?
Repopulation timeline? When can people go back to the Palisades,
to the Pasadena Altadena area, to other areas in mass
(14:00):
just this kind of trickle in effect. But what does
the actual repopulation timeline look like? And I would say
that people need a visual understanding, so get like a calendar,
they can really start to plan. They have their hotel rooms,
they have these short term stays, maybe Airbnb or family
and people need to know when they can start to
(14:20):
move forward.
Speaker 3 (14:22):
Maybe utility restoration.
Speaker 2 (14:24):
There are lots of people who did not evacuate or
did evacuate and then they were able to get home
before the blockades went up. And I've seen quite a
few anecdotes about people being in their homes with no
running water, no electricity. They are effectively camping and they
do not feel like they can leave if they feel
(14:45):
like if they leave, and this is straight from these
people I've seen talking about it, they won't be able
to get back or their home might be looted. So
what does utility restoration look like for people who are
able to go back to their homes, permits to remove debris,
what will that look like? What about for people who
are displaced? Price gouging? Rentals all over the market double
(15:10):
triple the amount they were just two weeks ago.
Speaker 3 (15:13):
So what really is.
Speaker 2 (15:14):
Being done by our government officials, our leadership to quell
what is a very obvious example of price gouging, and
it's across the board. These aren't just little examples or
one off examples. People are saying this is happening everywhere
you turn, and there's supposed to be a lot of
(15:36):
checks and balances around this, but it seems like landlords
and management companies are going against what is legal and
what's ethical. When it comes to rental prices, there will
be questions about the origin of the fire, how did
they start, and then what does that say for the
future when it comes to the incoming wind event, we're
(15:57):
looking at more Santa Ana wins coming back next week,
we can't get a break here. It's groundhog Day now
for the third week in a row, Santa Anas. They're
coming back as of Monday, at least that's what's forecast
by meteorologists.
Speaker 3 (16:10):
So what does that then look like?
Speaker 2 (16:13):
What does it also look like as far as preparation
and anticipation of land slides mud slides? We saw that
one home break in half. It's all over the news
because of a landslide and unstable soil due to the fires.
What is being done to protect people's properties from.
Speaker 3 (16:31):
That sort of conclusion?
Speaker 2 (16:35):
And as well, when it comes to firefighting efforts, the
idea that there was a water shortage or at least
low pressure, the idea that there weren't enough staff, what
does that then look like? The new bill proposal coming
out of Sacramento that will say that no layoffs will
happen across California fire departments across California because fire season
(16:57):
is all year round, no more winter layoffs. So tomorrow
those questions will likely be asked and many more. I'm
hopeful that people will get the answers that they've been
clamoring for that they so desperately need. I'm also a
bit cynical and skeptical because if you know Gavin Newsom,
it's going to be a very pretty package. And I'm
(17:17):
not necessarily anticipating a lot of honesty and a lot
of rawness because if it goes there, then it will
likely get more out of hand than Governor Newsom and
the other people in leadership are ready to handle or
want to handle.
Speaker 3 (17:33):
But that's tomorrow at nine am, streaming.
Speaker 2 (17:35):
Live on all of the iHeart areas, online, on your app,
on your radio will be carrying it here as well.
When we come back, I'll give you some updates, or
actually no, i will not give you any more updates
until a little bit later because we're going to talk
to Lou Shapiro, a lawyer friend of mine who has
been on the station before, and he's going to give
(17:55):
out a lot of legal advice about these fires. Stay
tuned for that. It is an explosive interview, a very
valuable interview. You want to listen in right next five
thirty on KFI AM six forty live everywhere from the
iHeartRadio apps.
Speaker 1 (18:11):
You're listening to KFI AM six forty on demand k
i AM.
Speaker 2 (18:16):
Six forty live everywhere on the iHeartRadio app.
Speaker 3 (18:20):
It's Saturday with Tiffany.
Speaker 2 (18:21):
I'm here with you until seven and we have a
very special guest with us on tonight.
Speaker 3 (18:27):
He has made time in a very busy schedule.
Speaker 2 (18:30):
It's a hectic time for everyone, especially if you are
managing everything that's going on with these fires ravaging Los
Angeles and now in the wake. There are lots of questions,
there are lots of answers that are being sought, and
a part of that question and answer system involves legal advice.
(18:51):
And we have none other than Lou Shapiro. And let
me tell you a little bit about Lou Shapiro. He's
a dynamic state and federal criminal law attorney in LA.
He's represented numerous clients in cases ranging from DUI and
drug offenses to cybercrime that's really big right now, an
(19:11):
all over and money laundering as well. His reputation as
being a strong and detail oriented advocate and savvy legal
mind is why he's viewed as a formidable opponent by
many prosecutors. He's a certified criminal law Specialist by the
State Bar of California and his office is located just
(19:32):
down the way in Century City. Beautiful Century City, I
love going down there. Lou concentrates his practice on predominantly
white and blue collar criminal defense. He aggressively, creatively, and
successfully represents clients in a vast variety of federal and
state criminal matters, and we have him on tonight. Lou Shapiro,
(19:55):
I am honored because I feel like I've heard you,
I've seen you on Access Hollywood and all these other
places you've appeared, and I'm just really grateful that you're
taking the time out to spend a few quality minutes
with our show.
Speaker 3 (20:08):
Thank you so much.
Speaker 4 (20:10):
Well, thank you for that generous introduction. I didn't know
who you were talking about until the end of it,
so I really appreciate that you have.
Speaker 2 (20:16):
Done all of that and more. This is just what's
able to fit in a short bio. But you know,
in researching who you are and what you do, your
list of accomplishments is vast, and the way in which
you donate your time is extremely generous, and you're doing
that tonight.
Speaker 3 (20:32):
This is yet another example.
Speaker 2 (20:34):
So what's prompting you to dish out what I will.
Speaker 3 (20:38):
Consider as free legal advice?
Speaker 2 (20:41):
And we're going to get into some particular some specifics,
but what is prompting you are you from LA Are you?
Are you affected by what's going on like all of
us are? Tell me a bit about why you're connected
to this cause.
Speaker 4 (20:55):
Sure. So I'm born and raised in Los Angeles. I
grew up in the valley, live in this city. It's
more court central, to get all the courts very east
of here, So I've seen those sort of both sides
of here. And I have friends and family all over
valiant city and beyond.
Speaker 3 (21:11):
Got it. Got it?
Speaker 4 (21:12):
I was raised in it. I was raised by a
family that's very community minded, civic oriented, always engaging with
local city council, helping out when there was community needs.
I remember the northwards earthquake very parts along the way.
So the way I saw this is when when we
have an emergency like this, of this magnitude that we've
(21:34):
probably never seen before, everyone kind of thinks, looks within
and said what can I do to help all these victims?
I noticed, it's beautiful that a lot of people are
going to you know, setting up food banks and donating clothing,
and everyone's finding ways that they can be effective and
efficient after the victims. So I look inward and I said,
(21:54):
what can I do? Yes, I could go to the
food banks too, and you know, put boxes. I think
a better use of my resources is my knowledge that
I've gained over the twenty years of law practice, and
I've interfaced with a lot of insurance companies and a
lot of legal issues, and I feel like this is
a great opportunity for me and my community service can
be helping victims navigate these very difficult channels. A lot
(22:19):
of people think, you know what, if I don't have
homeowners insurance, I'm done. I have nowhere to go. Or
if I don't have renters insurance, I'm out of luck.
And I'm here to tell anyone who's listening, you're not
out of luck. There are other remedies. If you are
a renter, there's maybe commercial liability insurance from your building.
If you don't have homeowners insurance, there might be a
(22:40):
remedy against con Anissin or the LOOK or DWP. There's
lawsuits being filed, and you should jump on those class actions.
So I know, I'm sure we'll get more into that will.
But I see my role here a way of basically
offering victims creative thinking that they otherwise would not have known,
have they not spoken to me, and once I can
give them other ideas, they can run with it. Right.
(23:02):
I'm not here to make money of what happened to them.
On the contrary, I'm here to just connect them with
people public adjusters or attorneys or or small claims court ideas, right,
all creative ideas to help people that have lost ten thousands,
all the way up to have lost several houses in Malibuli. Absolutely,
that's what I see my role here, Lou.
Speaker 2 (23:23):
If you were here right now, I'd give you a
big hug, because I know what it is to feel
like you're not doing enough and you're wondering how.
Speaker 3 (23:31):
Exactly to apply your skill set to.
Speaker 2 (23:33):
Something like this, something we've never experienced, or if you
have experienced, then you understand kind of the urgency of
what it is to help, and that you are using
your skill set in this way to give people knowledge
that they might not necessarily have the ability to seek
right now because they are so overwhelmed with all of
(23:54):
the details of now piecing back together their lives in
a new way. I just floored that you are so
generous in this way to do this, because you could
absolutely be like so many and exploit, absolutely exploit the
vulnerability of these people who are suffering and you are
not doing that.
Speaker 3 (24:13):
So thank you so much for that.
Speaker 4 (24:16):
Hey, you got it, and thanks for sharing that as well.
I mean, look, as a criminal lawyer, we're used to
basically dealing with people in crisis mode, and this is
just another form of crisis for people. So it helps them. Also,
they have somebody calm on the other end of the line,
like you were saying, that can listen and can start
quickly solving some of their issues and opening their minds
(24:37):
when they are in a state of panic, and also
giving them some calm as well, trying to bring them
a little bit down so that way they can think
a little bit more objectively.
Speaker 3 (24:45):
Awesome.
Speaker 2 (24:45):
I know I have a list of questions for you,
and we're probably going to run out of time in
this segment, but I will start with one question and
I'll get your answer on the other side of the break,
if that's okay.
Speaker 3 (24:56):
But let me throw this question at you. Okay, you ready.
Speaker 2 (24:59):
I'm thinking like somebody who might be managing this disaster,
I am not. I'm very fortunate to not be. But
I have a lot of friends and family members, family,
close family friends who are in fact, impacted directly by
the fires in Pasadena, by the fires in Altadena and
the Palisades, and victims of these fires are pissed. They
(25:20):
are absolutely pissed. They are confused, they are frustrated. It's
starting to seem like the initial shock is wearing off,
and now the clarity of wanting to know what the
heck is a person's personal recourse is starting to grab hold.
And so my question to you does in fact reflect
(25:43):
what you started off by saying, do you feel that
people have legal recourse during these disasters against utility companies
or anything broader?
Speaker 3 (25:55):
What do you say?
Speaker 4 (25:57):
So, my suggestion is that people that are victims of
these situations need to look at their we'll call the
remedies right solutions, in a way that you're not just
limited to one remedy. We oftentimes think, Okay, I have
to choose this path and then forget about all the
other paths. On the contrary, try simultaneous remedies to try
(26:19):
to get recovery. So, for example, if you are a renter,
I speaking to a lot of renters too and that
have lost thirty forty thousand in items, and they go,
I didn't even have what do I do now? So
Number one, there's the building that you're renting from. They
may have some sort of commercial liability insurance that can
be a claim can be filed against to try to recover.
(26:43):
Number two is if you're living in the Palis Safe area,
then there's already lawsuits being filed against a DWP and
the county for not properly keeping that reservoir full.
Speaker 3 (26:57):
I've seen those, I've seen them floating around you.
Speaker 4 (27:01):
So that person should I will connect them with those
lawyers who are leading those class actions. Who's they jump
into that class now? So that's another avenue. If you're
in Altadena and you're being told that being told that
maybe the fire started because of a faulty contison equipment,
then there's another remedy. There's another class action that's starting
there that I will connect them with that lawyer to
(27:23):
jump on.
Speaker 3 (27:24):
Got it, and I'm gonna jump in. I'm gonna jump
in really quick.
Speaker 2 (27:26):
Let's continue this line of questioning and your answer when
we come back, because there's so much more I want
to get into, and you have a wealth of information.
I want to give you ample time. Can you hang
on with us for one more segment?
Speaker 3 (27:38):
My pleasure, fantastic.
Speaker 2 (27:40):
We are talking to Lou Shapiro, attorney. He is giving
out free and extremely valuable legal advice about people who
are managing these fires ravaging Los Angeles, whether eaten or
palisades or.
Speaker 3 (27:53):
Anything in between.
Speaker 2 (27:54):
And you should be listening to this because you are
impacted or you know someone who's impacted you. I want
this information because Lou is giving you things that you
can hold on to that will restore some sort of
normalcy to your life and help you begin to rebuild
in a fair and accurate way. So hang on with us.
We're gonna come back with Lou Shapiro after the break.
(28:16):
KFI AM six forty Live everywhere on the iHeartRadio app.
Speaker 1 (28:20):
You're listening to KFI AM six forty on demand KFI.
Speaker 2 (28:25):
AM six forty Live everywhere on the iHeart Radio app.
Tiffany Hobbs here with you. It's Saturday with Tiffany until seven,
and we are talking to Lou Shapiro. He's a criminal
defense attorney here in Los Angeles. He is extremely accomplished.
He's been on a lot of different TV networks. He's
given out his legal advice in many ways, and he
is joining us tonight to do that to support people
(28:48):
who are impacted by the Eton fire, the Palisades fire,
and any other fire that is a part of this
devastation that we are all going through in southern California.
And Lou was just telling us a bit about the
recourse that people have, whether renter or homeowner. So Lou,
thank you again for being with us, and I'll throw
(29:09):
it back to you. You were explaining again what renters
have as far as a legal course, legal action they
could potentially take, and I know you'll get into homeowners
as well.
Speaker 4 (29:21):
Right, So in the last segment, we just review quickly
a renter that let's say doesn't have virguer's insurance. There
are other ways to try to recover. One way is
to try to jump on a class action against Conneedison,
which is building. Another way is to jump into a
class action against DWP, which has been filed in his building.
And I'll connect you with those lawyers if you like
(29:41):
as well. You can reach out to me at Lewis J.
Shapiro at gmail dot com. Another method of recovery again
is FEMA, So please look into that they are actually
giving out money depending on what somebody makes what somebody lost,
but that loose payments will come out. In addition, there's
also the SBA option, so the Small Business Association is
(30:04):
the government loan that is at a very low rate
two and a half percent. I encourage people to apply
for it, even if you're not going to use it,
apply for it because it's good to have it if
and when you need it. In addition, there could be
the possibility and I haven't read this, but just basing
it all what happened with COVID, because remember during COVID
there was also PPP loans given out a lot of
(30:26):
government which were in the end forgiven. We're forgiven, so
it could possibly be that these SBA loans now might
be forgiven at the end of a life term. So
it's an air take the advantage of and if it
works for you. But we've just listed about five six
avenues of recovery. One is not exclusive of the other.
(30:50):
If you don't have burnure's insurance, got it?
Speaker 2 (30:52):
Can you just quickly list those one more time? Just
bullet point them those five?
Speaker 4 (30:57):
Yeah, right, So we have obviously someone's own renters insurance.
Number one. Number two is the building insurance also known
as commercial liability insurance by the Building three class action
building against con ed number four class action building against
WP number five. We have FEMA and number six is
(31:21):
a small Business Association loan that you should apply for
which hopefully for people that you will be forgiven at
the end.
Speaker 2 (31:26):
Wonderful, now, Lou, there's a lot going around, as it
always happens when there's some sort of catastrophe or some
sort of event where people are galvanized to give or
they're needing things. There's a lot going around with scams.
And you are in the criminal defense. You are a
part of the criminal defense system in that way, you
(31:47):
are very knowledgeable on crime. Scams. Are these crimes that
are prosecutable? Are they are people able to actually hold
these scammers accountable if they're able to identify where the
scam originates. What do you think about how they should
navigate scams when it comes to legal recourse.
Speaker 4 (32:08):
Yeh, so I'm glad you brought that up. Tifany scams
are definitely something one is watch out for. Those gofund
the accounts, they're not always legitimate, so definitely do your
research on those. Speak to people who have already donated,
why they're donating, before you just make the quick donation there.
Diluting is obviously being prosecuted by New DA on Nathan Hackman.
(32:29):
He's made a very clear press conferences. We've already seen
sell any filings on them, so those are being taken
very seriously. Price gouging is one that the State of
California Attorney General's office said they're looking out for now.
Speaker 2 (32:42):
Lou I saw something that says that rent is being
exploited and gouged up to one hundred and seventeen or
one hundred and fourteen percent of what it originally was
prior to these fires.
Speaker 3 (32:56):
Have you seen evidence of that?
Speaker 2 (32:57):
That's devastating and just so disgusting that people would do
this right.
Speaker 4 (33:03):
So a lot of people, I think don't even realize
that there is a law prohibiting that. It's in the
count California. Peel on a move. It's like three ninety six,
which says that if a property has been listed within
twelve months of an emergency that has taken place, one
cannot raise that rent more than ten percent of what
originally was listed out prior to the emergency. If they
(33:26):
do that, to consider price gouging and our subject to
criminal prosecution. They will be prosecuting those cases, I'm sure
of it. There are people online collecting information on other
people's listings to report them because everyone's so outraised by this.
So ignorance is the law. So if you're listening to
this and you are a landlord, a building owner, you've
(33:48):
got to be careful on this law. So please don't
price gouge. Like Tiffany said, obviously it's unethical, but it's
also illegal. Yeah, so be careful of that one.
Speaker 3 (33:58):
Why would you want to say it?
Speaker 2 (34:00):
And you know, why would you want to throw that
on the fire already so to speak?
Speaker 4 (34:04):
Right, And if you already entered into at least like
that and you're like, oh no, I'm already price gouging,
well correct it, right, don't just sit on it and
say well too late. No, go back to that a
person that's renting from you and say, look, I apologize.
We need to do this over again. I can't be
in a physition where I'm asking you from more than
ten percent. I know what the law is and I
(34:25):
need to follow it, and I'm going to do the
right thing. You can correct what you did doesn't mean
you're not going to get held accountable. But believe me,
if you are held accountable, it's much better to be
able to say I corrected it on my own, very
early on in the process than having to be tapped
on the shoulder by law enforcement to tell me to
do it exactly.
Speaker 2 (34:41):
And speaking of law enforcement, and again everyone, we're talking
to Louse Shapiro. He's a very accomplished attorney. He's giving
us some free legal advice, very valuable. Listen back if
you missed it. Now, speaking of law enforcement, there are people,
Lou and this will be my last question for you
before we get into how people can reach you.
Speaker 3 (34:57):
Again, people are being detained.
Speaker 2 (35:00):
They may feel that they are being wrongfully detained or
stopped from accessing their property. Obviously, in these press conferences,
law enforcement officials, city officials have told people to stay away.
They know that people want to get back to their homes,
but to stay away. And you have people who are
looking for their pets or trying to recover things before
(35:20):
looters get to them or any modicum within Do people
have a case if they feel they've been wrongfully detained
in this situation or is it really not on their
side Because of all of the warnings and things that
have been issued publicly.
Speaker 4 (35:36):
So what I think will happen, like we see a
lot of times with like protesters, is people will get
arrested and removed if it comes to that and they're
not abiding by curfews or restrictions. But will they end
being prosecuted once they get to court a month or
two later. I doubt it. I'm not encouraging people to
do it, but I'm just giving you the practical answer.
(35:58):
I don't think the government has interest in prosecuting victims.
They've already been through enough. I think they do, though,
want a sense of decorum and order while they try
to work through and navigate this horrible disaster.
Speaker 3 (36:10):
Got it? Got it?
Speaker 2 (36:11):
Thank you so much for that, Lou, and for every
answer that you have given us. Can you please let
our listeners know how can they reach you again? Give
out your email, give out any other way, and any
last bit of advice that people can take away from you.
Speaker 4 (36:25):
Sure, I think the easiest way to reach me is
just google Lou Shapiro and then my website will come
up on my contact info there. So just google Loshapirolushapiro
dot com and you can call me or email me
through that website, and my last big advice is, I
know we've all been through a lot own we are
with you, and don't despair. There are other meths of recovery.
(36:48):
If you don't seem today, they probably will be there tomorrow.
So don't lose hope. Reach out to me, reach out
to people that know this field, and become informed. The
more informed you are, the better off you'll be in
the end of this.
Speaker 2 (36:59):
Thank you for That's a wonderful way to wrap this up.
Lou Again, thank you so very much for your time
and for everything you do sightseeing and unseen. This has
been extremely helpful and I am positive that someone listening
will take away something you've said, if not all of
what you've said, and use it to be able to
start to rebuild their lives. Thank you again, thanks for
spreading the message, Tiffany, You're so welcome. KFI AM six
(37:22):
forty live everywhere on the iHeartRadio
Speaker 1 (37:25):
App, KFI AM six forty on demand
You're listening to KFI AM six forty on demand KFI.
Speaker 2 (00:05):
AM six forty live everywhere from the iHeartRadio at Tiffany
Hobbs here with you. It's Saturday with Tiffany, and I'll
be with you until seven pm. What an emotional broadcast
from Amy King. If you were listening to Amy, she
filled in for Neil Savedra, who is still nursing an illness,
(00:26):
and she did the fork report from the Dream Center La,
Dream Center La. You've likely heard quite a few people
on the station talking about the Dream Center. If you haven't,
then you certainly, certainly should become well acquainted with this
beautiful organization. Amy was there and I was listening, and
(00:47):
as soon as she began at two pm, she came in.
She introduced the show, and upon the very first line,
her voice cracked. And it was because she was so
overwhelmed with emotion and she was trying to, you know,
put on put on her radio, her radio readiness, and
(01:08):
and give you the show and and and not stumble
over anything. But her humanity took over as it should,
and she got emotional. And while I was listening, I
was emotional right along with her, and I don't know
if you've experienced the same thing, But in this last
ten days eleven days, there have been times when the
(01:30):
emotion around what's going on with the fires has surprised me.
My own reaction has surprised me. I've been stoic. I've
been you know, nose to the ground and helpful and
wanting to figure out how to contribute and to be supportive.
And then in those quiet moments when you really take
(01:51):
in the severity and the gravity of everything that has
happened in such a short period of time and to
so many people, it is absolutely overwhelming. And I cannot
imagine that if I'm overwhelmed from this side of reality,
(02:12):
what people are going through now as they move into
the next phases of this incredible disaster. Tonight, on the show,
like I said, I'm here with you until seven, we'll
talk a bit about the Dream Center, just to start,
and want to reintroduce some of the things that they
need down there at the Dream Center, and how iHeartRadio
(02:34):
is pairing with the organization and why we're also going
to talk to at five point thirty Lou Shapiro, who
is a lawyer. He has been on KFI numerous times
from handle to John COBALT's show, and he's a friend
of the station, and he gave a wonderful two segments
(02:54):
worth of free information that will help guide people through
this nexta of logistics as they start to piece their
lives back together after these fires. So he'll be with
us at five excuse me, five thirty. And then we
have pet Co Loves Director of Life Saving Chelsea Staley
(03:15):
coming on with us at six pm, and she's gonna
talk to us about how pet Co. You know the store,
pet Co, I love them, you love them. How pet
Co is working so compassionately to reunite pet parents pet
owners with the pets they have lost during this fire.
There are hundreds, if not thousands of pets still unaccounted for,
(03:38):
and pet Co Love is doing just amazing work to
try and help with that reunification. At six point thirty,
we'll have Heather Brooker on. You remember Heather Brooker. We
love Heather. Heather's gonna come on. She was formerly a
part of the KFI News team and she is an
actress extraordinaire. She's forming in a play called Newsies. All
(04:02):
of you Disney people out there might recognize Newsies but
she's performing in a play and that play was preempted
because of the fires, pushed back, but it's rezuoming next weekend,
so Heather's going to be here with us to talk
about that play at six point thirty and just how
timely the kind of main idea or objective of this
(04:25):
play is in relation to what people are dealing with
as they manage this disaster around southern California with the fires.
We're also going to take a look at what we
can possibly expect on day one from the incoming President
Trump presidency or just a few days away. It's all
(04:45):
over the news box is covering it, just wall to
wall with their coverage, and there's a lot to expect.
There's a lot that's been said, a lot of predictions
have been made, and we'll kind of go over what
possibly could happen on that very first day of a
Trump presidency.
Speaker 3 (05:04):
I'll give you some updates.
Speaker 2 (05:05):
On the fires as well, and if we have time,
we'll get into what's going on with Starbucks. Starbucks is
changing something up and I'll try to get into it
in the last segment.
Speaker 3 (05:16):
If I have time.
Speaker 2 (05:17):
We have a very pack show, I'll try and fit
it in if I can, but just to start just
so that we can kind of reiterate what's going on
over there at the Dream Center. The Dream Center is
open Monday through Saturday from twelve pm to seven pm,
and they're not going to be open tomorrow because they're
(05:39):
taking a day off.
Speaker 3 (05:40):
They've been working.
Speaker 2 (05:41):
Around the clock to take donations from all of you
wonderfully generous KFI listeners and iHeart listeners and partners.
Speaker 3 (05:51):
And they need a day.
Speaker 2 (05:53):
They need a day, and they deserve a day, and
they will resume taking donations and resume doling out those
donations to people who need it on Monday and from
Monday until Saturday and thereafter as well. But Monday through
Saturday from twelve pm to seven pm, you can go
down there to the Dream Center and you can donate.
(06:13):
If you are in need, you can go down to
the Dream Center and you can get the support that
you need. You pull up, you literally pop your trunk,
and volunteers will come up to you.
Speaker 3 (06:26):
They might come up to you.
Speaker 2 (06:27):
Before you pop your trunk, but either way, they'll come
up to you and they'll say what do you need?
And that's where you get to be as specific as possible.
You get to tell them what you have to donate,
and these volunteers, these just angels, angels who walk amongst us,
will take what you have, give you what you need,
and send you on into your next chapter. And you
(06:49):
might be compelled to come back, especially if you're donating.
And please do that. The Dream Center is a legitimate organization.
There are questions, of course, around donations. There's a lot
of nefarious people out there who again want you to
part with your money and your resources. The Dream Center
(07:10):
is not one of those organizations. They are as legitimate
as they come. I can vouch for them, having worked
with them twenty years ago during Hurricane Katrina. And the
Dream Center not only connects donations and allocates donations, but
they also serve as a temporary shelter for people who
need housing. They also work to secure long term housing.
(07:32):
They're even opening up their campus to one of the
schools lost in the Altadena fire so that that school
can have a campus for their students to resume all
normal academic and social activities. So the Dream Center is
just one of those places that is a jewel. It
is a jewel on the hill over there at twenty
(07:54):
three to oh one Bellevue Avenue and Echo Park. You
pass it on the one oh one and it's that
huge white building. And iHeartMedia, iHeart radio, all of our
stations and as you see, our anchors, our hosts are
a part of this, and we, together with all of
you Angelinos who are extremely selfless and really showing up
(08:17):
with your empathy and your compassion and your generosity are
directly impacting people who need it. Amy spoke to one
person who described losing his home and seeing it in
his rear view mirror as he drove away. It was
on fire. He was there today with Amy and he
talked about what he was there to get, which was
(08:41):
everything he had nothing and the Dream Center was able
to provide for him what he needed. When we return,
I'll tell you a little bit more about the Dream Center,
and then I'm going to get into something that's happening tomorrow.
It's a special town hall hosted by Gov. Gavin Newsom.
(09:01):
I'll give you the time where you can access this
town hall and what this town hall will be about,
because man, oh man, could it possibly get out of hand?
Speaker 4 (09:14):
Should it?
Speaker 1 (09:15):
Should it?
Speaker 3 (09:16):
And we'll see what we can say about that. When
we return.
Speaker 2 (09:20):
It's KFI AM six forty live everywhere from the iHeartRadio app,
or on the iHeartRadio app, or in your car wherever
you access us.
Speaker 1 (09:28):
You're listening to KFI AM six forty on demand.
Speaker 2 (09:33):
Kf I Am six forty Live everywhere on the iHeartRadio app.
Tiffany Hop's here with you until seven. It's Saturdays with
Tiffany and I was just reminding our listeners of just
how impactful the Dream Center.
Speaker 3 (09:46):
La is.
Speaker 2 (09:47):
I highly encourage all of you to get down there.
Amy King broadcast it live today filling in for the
Fork Report. She was there until five, did the entire
show there and they are there until seven tonight. So
you can take anything that you have that is, I
would say, as close to new, if not new. Do
(10:08):
not take something that you would not want someone to
give you if you were in this situation. Amy spoke
to quite a few people from the Dream Center, including
Pastor Barnett, Fire Captain Kelleher, a director of disaster relief
who we talked to last week on the show, Clint Carlton.
She also spoke to some beneficiaries of your generosity and
(10:29):
what is needed now. What's needed now is not your clothes.
You can hold off on that. There's plenty of places
I'm sure that will still accept it. But the Dream
Center doesn't need your clothes right now. They need sunscreen, chapstick,
bottled water, sports drinks for hydration, hygiene products for men, women,
(10:50):
everything within, baby supplies, air purifiers, masks, pet food and supplies,
pet food for sure, flashlightsies, portable chargers, first aid kits,
cleaning supplies, and heavy duty gloves because in this next phase,
people are getting back out there and they're starting to
(11:12):
clean out what's left, and they do, in fact need
gloves because what's there is toxic and hazard is hazardous,
and you don't want people to have, you know, their
plight compounded. We don't need people getting sick from exposure
while they're out there just trying to literally pick up
the pieces of what's left. So pull up there twenty
(11:35):
three oh one Bellevue Avenue and Echo Park and donate.
If you cannot donate, then donate in person. Then you
can donate online at KFI AM six forty dot com,
backslash donate, backslash donate, and you can give monetarily.
Speaker 3 (11:51):
Whatever you have.
Speaker 2 (11:54):
iHeartRadio is really busy with these fires, we're really jumping
out there in front to support people and to let
people know that they are not alone through this. We
empathize all of us here across the station. We've been
out there as Amy King was today, I plan to
go this Monday. And something else that iHeart is doing
(12:15):
is we are going to be carrying live an opportunity
for people impacted by these fires to ask questions directly
to Governor Newsom tomorrow during a town hall for all
of the fires. So this is an open question town hall.
(12:38):
People will be allowed to ask questions of course, partaking
to what's going on with the fires in LA and
we'll be streaming that and carrying that live tomorrow.
Speaker 3 (12:49):
Sunday at nine a m. Nine am.
Speaker 2 (12:53):
So you definitely definitely want to listen in to that
because I anticipate even more fires, so to speak. And
I don't say that to be funny. I don't say
that to be tongue in cheek. But I don't see
how this could go smoothly. And I get they could
(13:14):
try to carefully curate this, but we've seen town halls before.
You've seen how things can go sideways very quickly, and
in many cases rightfully so, because people want to express
what they feel and they have questions they do not
feel have been answered or are to their liking. And
this is what the opportunity will present tomorrow, people to
(13:37):
be honest and people to speak directly to Governor Gavin
Newsom about their questions some questions I'm anticipating and you
might be thinking the same. What might they ask right?
Repopulation timeline? When can people go back to the Palisades,
to the Pasadena Altadena area, to other areas in mass
(14:00):
just this kind of trickle in effect. But what does
the actual repopulation timeline look like? And I would say
that people need a visual understanding, so get like a calendar,
they can really start to plan. They have their hotel rooms,
they have these short term stays, maybe Airbnb or family
and people need to know when they can start to
(14:20):
move forward.
Speaker 3 (14:22):
Maybe utility restoration.
Speaker 2 (14:24):
There are lots of people who did not evacuate or
did evacuate and then they were able to get home
before the blockades went up. And I've seen quite a
few anecdotes about people being in their homes with no
running water, no electricity. They are effectively camping and they
do not feel like they can leave if they feel
(14:45):
like if they leave, and this is straight from these
people I've seen talking about it, they won't be able
to get back or their home might be looted. So
what does utility restoration look like for people who are
able to go back to their homes, permits to remove debris,
what will that look like? What about for people who
are displaced? Price gouging? Rentals all over the market double
(15:10):
triple the amount they were just two weeks ago.
Speaker 3 (15:13):
So what really is.
Speaker 2 (15:14):
Being done by our government officials, our leadership to quell
what is a very obvious example of price gouging, and
it's across the board. These aren't just little examples or
one off examples. People are saying this is happening everywhere
you turn, and there's supposed to be a lot of
(15:36):
checks and balances around this, but it seems like landlords
and management companies are going against what is legal and
what's ethical. When it comes to rental prices, there will
be questions about the origin of the fire, how did
they start, and then what does that say for the
future when it comes to the incoming wind event, we're
(15:57):
looking at more Santa Ana wins coming back next week,
we can't get a break here. It's groundhog Day now
for the third week in a row, Santa Anas. They're
coming back as of Monday, at least that's what's forecast
by meteorologists.
Speaker 3 (16:10):
So what does that then look like?
Speaker 2 (16:13):
What does it also look like as far as preparation
and anticipation of land slides mud slides? We saw that
one home break in half. It's all over the news
because of a landslide and unstable soil due to the fires.
What is being done to protect people's properties from.
Speaker 3 (16:31):
That sort of conclusion?
Speaker 2 (16:35):
And as well, when it comes to firefighting efforts, the
idea that there was a water shortage or at least
low pressure, the idea that there weren't enough staff, what
does that then look like? The new bill proposal coming
out of Sacramento that will say that no layoffs will
happen across California fire departments across California because fire season
(16:57):
is all year round, no more winter layoffs. So tomorrow
those questions will likely be asked and many more. I'm
hopeful that people will get the answers that they've been
clamoring for that they so desperately need. I'm also a
bit cynical and skeptical because if you know Gavin Newsom,
it's going to be a very pretty package. And I'm
(17:17):
not necessarily anticipating a lot of honesty and a lot
of rawness because if it goes there, then it will
likely get more out of hand than Governor Newsom and
the other people in leadership are ready to handle or
want to handle.
Speaker 3 (17:33):
But that's tomorrow at nine am, streaming.
Speaker 2 (17:35):
Live on all of the iHeart areas, online, on your app,
on your radio will be carrying it here as well.
When we come back, I'll give you some updates, or
actually no, i will not give you any more updates
until a little bit later because we're going to talk
to Lou Shapiro, a lawyer friend of mine who has
been on the station before, and he's going to give
(17:55):
out a lot of legal advice about these fires. Stay
tuned for that. It is an explosive interview, a very
valuable interview. You want to listen in right next five
thirty on KFI AM six forty live everywhere from the
iHeartRadio apps.
Speaker 1 (18:11):
You're listening to KFI AM six forty on demand k
i AM.
Speaker 2 (18:16):
Six forty live everywhere on the iHeartRadio app.
Speaker 3 (18:20):
It's Saturday with Tiffany.
Speaker 2 (18:21):
I'm here with you until seven and we have a
very special guest with us on tonight.
Speaker 3 (18:27):
He has made time in a very busy schedule.
Speaker 2 (18:30):
It's a hectic time for everyone, especially if you are
managing everything that's going on with these fires ravaging Los
Angeles and now in the wake. There are lots of questions,
there are lots of answers that are being sought, and
a part of that question and answer system involves legal advice.
(18:51):
And we have none other than Lou Shapiro. And let
me tell you a little bit about Lou Shapiro. He's
a dynamic state and federal criminal law attorney in LA.
He's represented numerous clients in cases ranging from DUI and
drug offenses to cybercrime that's really big right now, an
(19:11):
all over and money laundering as well. His reputation as
being a strong and detail oriented advocate and savvy legal
mind is why he's viewed as a formidable opponent by
many prosecutors. He's a certified criminal law Specialist by the
State Bar of California and his office is located just
(19:32):
down the way in Century City. Beautiful Century City, I
love going down there. Lou concentrates his practice on predominantly
white and blue collar criminal defense. He aggressively, creatively, and
successfully represents clients in a vast variety of federal and
state criminal matters, and we have him on tonight. Lou Shapiro,
(19:55):
I am honored because I feel like I've heard you,
I've seen you on Access Hollywood and all these other
places you've appeared, and I'm just really grateful that you're
taking the time out to spend a few quality minutes
with our show.
Speaker 3 (20:08):
Thank you so much.
Speaker 4 (20:10):
Well, thank you for that generous introduction. I didn't know
who you were talking about until the end of it,
so I really appreciate that you have.
Speaker 2 (20:16):
Done all of that and more. This is just what's
able to fit in a short bio. But you know,
in researching who you are and what you do, your
list of accomplishments is vast, and the way in which
you donate your time is extremely generous, and you're doing
that tonight.
Speaker 3 (20:32):
This is yet another example.
Speaker 2 (20:34):
So what's prompting you to dish out what I will.
Speaker 3 (20:38):
Consider as free legal advice?
Speaker 2 (20:41):
And we're going to get into some particular some specifics,
but what is prompting you are you from LA Are you?
Are you affected by what's going on like all of
us are? Tell me a bit about why you're connected
to this cause.
Speaker 4 (20:55):
Sure. So I'm born and raised in Los Angeles. I
grew up in the valley, live in this city. It's
more court central, to get all the courts very east
of here, So I've seen those sort of both sides
of here. And I have friends and family all over
valiant city and beyond.
Speaker 3 (21:11):
Got it. Got it?
Speaker 4 (21:12):
I was raised in it. I was raised by a
family that's very community minded, civic oriented, always engaging with
local city council, helping out when there was community needs.
I remember the northwards earthquake very parts along the way.
So the way I saw this is when when we
have an emergency like this, of this magnitude that we've
(21:34):
probably never seen before, everyone kind of thinks, looks within
and said what can I do to help all these victims?
I noticed, it's beautiful that a lot of people are
going to you know, setting up food banks and donating clothing,
and everyone's finding ways that they can be effective and
efficient after the victims. So I look inward and I said,
(21:54):
what can I do? Yes, I could go to the
food banks too, and you know, put boxes. I think
a better use of my resources is my knowledge that
I've gained over the twenty years of law practice, and
I've interfaced with a lot of insurance companies and a
lot of legal issues, and I feel like this is
a great opportunity for me and my community service can
be helping victims navigate these very difficult channels. A lot
(22:19):
of people think, you know what, if I don't have
homeowners insurance, I'm done. I have nowhere to go. Or
if I don't have renters insurance, I'm out of luck.
And I'm here to tell anyone who's listening, you're not
out of luck. There are other remedies. If you are
a renter, there's maybe commercial liability insurance from your building.
If you don't have homeowners insurance, there might be a
(22:40):
remedy against con Anissin or the LOOK or DWP. There's
lawsuits being filed, and you should jump on those class actions.
So I know, I'm sure we'll get more into that will.
But I see my role here a way of basically
offering victims creative thinking that they otherwise would not have known,
have they not spoken to me, and once I can
give them other ideas, they can run with it. Right.
(23:02):
I'm not here to make money of what happened to them.
On the contrary, I'm here to just connect them with
people public adjusters or attorneys or or small claims court ideas, right,
all creative ideas to help people that have lost ten thousands,
all the way up to have lost several houses in Malibuli. Absolutely,
that's what I see my role here, Lou.
Speaker 2 (23:23):
If you were here right now, I'd give you a
big hug, because I know what it is to feel
like you're not doing enough and you're wondering how.
Speaker 3 (23:31):
Exactly to apply your skill set to.
Speaker 2 (23:33):
Something like this, something we've never experienced, or if you
have experienced, then you understand kind of the urgency of
what it is to help, and that you are using
your skill set in this way to give people knowledge
that they might not necessarily have the ability to seek
right now because they are so overwhelmed with all of
(23:54):
the details of now piecing back together their lives in
a new way. I just floored that you are so
generous in this way to do this, because you could
absolutely be like so many and exploit, absolutely exploit the
vulnerability of these people who are suffering and you are
not doing that.
Speaker 3 (24:13):
So thank you so much for that.
Speaker 4 (24:16):
Hey, you got it, and thanks for sharing that as well.
I mean, look, as a criminal lawyer, we're used to
basically dealing with people in crisis mode, and this is
just another form of crisis for people. So it helps them. Also,
they have somebody calm on the other end of the line,
like you were saying, that can listen and can start
quickly solving some of their issues and opening their minds
(24:37):
when they are in a state of panic, and also
giving them some calm as well, trying to bring them
a little bit down so that way they can think
a little bit more objectively.
Speaker 3 (24:45):
Awesome.
Speaker 2 (24:45):
I know I have a list of questions for you,
and we're probably going to run out of time in
this segment, but I will start with one question and
I'll get your answer on the other side of the break,
if that's okay.
Speaker 3 (24:56):
But let me throw this question at you. Okay, you ready.
Speaker 2 (24:59):
I'm thinking like somebody who might be managing this disaster,
I am not. I'm very fortunate to not be. But
I have a lot of friends and family members, family,
close family friends who are in fact, impacted directly by
the fires in Pasadena, by the fires in Altadena and
the Palisades, and victims of these fires are pissed. They
(25:20):
are absolutely pissed. They are confused, they are frustrated. It's
starting to seem like the initial shock is wearing off,
and now the clarity of wanting to know what the
heck is a person's personal recourse is starting to grab hold.
And so my question to you does in fact reflect
(25:43):
what you started off by saying, do you feel that
people have legal recourse during these disasters against utility companies
or anything broader?
Speaker 3 (25:55):
What do you say?
Speaker 4 (25:57):
So, my suggestion is that people that are victims of
these situations need to look at their we'll call the
remedies right solutions, in a way that you're not just
limited to one remedy. We oftentimes think, Okay, I have
to choose this path and then forget about all the
other paths. On the contrary, try simultaneous remedies to try
(26:19):
to get recovery. So, for example, if you are a renter,
I speaking to a lot of renters too and that
have lost thirty forty thousand in items, and they go,
I didn't even have what do I do now? So
Number one, there's the building that you're renting from. They
may have some sort of commercial liability insurance that can
be a claim can be filed against to try to recover.
(26:43):
Number two is if you're living in the Palis Safe area,
then there's already lawsuits being filed against a DWP and
the county for not properly keeping that reservoir full.
Speaker 3 (26:57):
I've seen those, I've seen them floating around you.
Speaker 4 (27:01):
So that person should I will connect them with those
lawyers who are leading those class actions. Who's they jump
into that class now? So that's another avenue. If you're
in Altadena and you're being told that being told that
maybe the fire started because of a faulty contison equipment,
then there's another remedy. There's another class action that's starting
there that I will connect them with that lawyer to
(27:23):
jump on.
Speaker 3 (27:24):
Got it, and I'm gonna jump in. I'm gonna jump
in really quick.
Speaker 2 (27:26):
Let's continue this line of questioning and your answer when
we come back, because there's so much more I want
to get into, and you have a wealth of information.
I want to give you ample time. Can you hang
on with us for one more segment?
Speaker 3 (27:38):
My pleasure, fantastic.
Speaker 2 (27:40):
We are talking to Lou Shapiro, attorney. He is giving
out free and extremely valuable legal advice about people who
are managing these fires ravaging Los Angeles, whether eaten or
palisades or.
Speaker 3 (27:53):
Anything in between.
Speaker 2 (27:54):
And you should be listening to this because you are
impacted or you know someone who's impacted you. I want
this information because Lou is giving you things that you
can hold on to that will restore some sort of
normalcy to your life and help you begin to rebuild
in a fair and accurate way. So hang on with us.
We're gonna come back with Lou Shapiro after the break.
(28:16):
KFI AM six forty Live everywhere on the iHeartRadio app.
Speaker 1 (28:20):
You're listening to KFI AM six forty on demand KFI.
Speaker 2 (28:25):
AM six forty Live everywhere on the iHeart Radio app.
Tiffany Hobbs here with you. It's Saturday with Tiffany until seven,
and we are talking to Lou Shapiro. He's a criminal
defense attorney here in Los Angeles. He is extremely accomplished.
He's been on a lot of different TV networks. He's
given out his legal advice in many ways, and he
is joining us tonight to do that to support people
(28:48):
who are impacted by the Eton fire, the Palisades fire,
and any other fire that is a part of this
devastation that we are all going through in southern California.
And Lou was just telling us a bit about the
recourse that people have, whether renter or homeowner. So Lou,
thank you again for being with us, and I'll throw
(29:09):
it back to you. You were explaining again what renters
have as far as a legal course, legal action they
could potentially take, and I know you'll get into homeowners
as well.
Speaker 4 (29:21):
Right, So in the last segment, we just review quickly
a renter that let's say doesn't have virguer's insurance. There
are other ways to try to recover. One way is
to try to jump on a class action against Conneedison,
which is building. Another way is to jump into a
class action against DWP, which has been filed in his building.
And I'll connect you with those lawyers if you like
(29:41):
as well. You can reach out to me at Lewis J.
Shapiro at gmail dot com. Another method of recovery again
is FEMA, So please look into that they are actually
giving out money depending on what somebody makes what somebody lost,
but that loose payments will come out. In addition, there's
also the SBA option, so the Small Business Association is
(30:04):
the government loan that is at a very low rate
two and a half percent. I encourage people to apply
for it, even if you're not going to use it,
apply for it because it's good to have it if
and when you need it. In addition, there could be
the possibility and I haven't read this, but just basing
it all what happened with COVID, because remember during COVID
there was also PPP loans given out a lot of
(30:26):
government which were in the end forgiven. We're forgiven, so
it could possibly be that these SBA loans now might
be forgiven at the end of a life term. So
it's an air take the advantage of and if it
works for you. But we've just listed about five six
avenues of recovery. One is not exclusive of the other.
(30:50):
If you don't have burnure's insurance, got it?
Speaker 2 (30:52):
Can you just quickly list those one more time? Just
bullet point them those five?
Speaker 4 (30:57):
Yeah, right, So we have obviously someone's own renters insurance.
Number one. Number two is the building insurance also known
as commercial liability insurance by the Building three class action
building against con ed number four class action building against
WP number five. We have FEMA and number six is
(31:21):
a small Business Association loan that you should apply for
which hopefully for people that you will be forgiven at
the end.
Speaker 2 (31:26):
Wonderful, now, Lou, there's a lot going around, as it
always happens when there's some sort of catastrophe or some
sort of event where people are galvanized to give or
they're needing things. There's a lot going around with scams.
And you are in the criminal defense. You are a
part of the criminal defense system in that way, you
(31:47):
are very knowledgeable on crime. Scams. Are these crimes that
are prosecutable? Are they are people able to actually hold
these scammers accountable if they're able to identify where the
scam originates. What do you think about how they should
navigate scams when it comes to legal recourse.
Speaker 4 (32:08):
Yeh, so I'm glad you brought that up. Tifany scams
are definitely something one is watch out for. Those gofund
the accounts, they're not always legitimate, so definitely do your
research on those. Speak to people who have already donated,
why they're donating, before you just make the quick donation there.
Diluting is obviously being prosecuted by New DA on Nathan Hackman.
(32:29):
He's made a very clear press conferences. We've already seen
sell any filings on them, so those are being taken
very seriously. Price gouging is one that the State of
California Attorney General's office said they're looking out for now.
Speaker 2 (32:42):
Lou I saw something that says that rent is being
exploited and gouged up to one hundred and seventeen or
one hundred and fourteen percent of what it originally was
prior to these fires.
Speaker 3 (32:56):
Have you seen evidence of that?
Speaker 2 (32:57):
That's devastating and just so disgusting that people would do
this right.
Speaker 4 (33:03):
So a lot of people, I think don't even realize
that there is a law prohibiting that. It's in the
count California. Peel on a move. It's like three ninety six,
which says that if a property has been listed within
twelve months of an emergency that has taken place, one
cannot raise that rent more than ten percent of what
originally was listed out prior to the emergency. If they
(33:26):
do that, to consider price gouging and our subject to
criminal prosecution. They will be prosecuting those cases, I'm sure
of it. There are people online collecting information on other
people's listings to report them because everyone's so outraised by this.
So ignorance is the law. So if you're listening to
this and you are a landlord, a building owner, you've
(33:48):
got to be careful on this law. So please don't
price gouge. Like Tiffany said, obviously it's unethical, but it's
also illegal. Yeah, so be careful of that one.
Speaker 3 (33:58):
Why would you want to say it?
Speaker 2 (34:00):
And you know, why would you want to throw that
on the fire already so to speak?
Speaker 4 (34:04):
Right, And if you already entered into at least like
that and you're like, oh no, I'm already price gouging,
well correct it, right, don't just sit on it and
say well too late. No, go back to that a
person that's renting from you and say, look, I apologize.
We need to do this over again. I can't be
in a physition where I'm asking you from more than
ten percent. I know what the law is and I
(34:25):
need to follow it, and I'm going to do the
right thing. You can correct what you did doesn't mean
you're not going to get held accountable. But believe me,
if you are held accountable, it's much better to be
able to say I corrected it on my own, very
early on in the process than having to be tapped
on the shoulder by law enforcement to tell me to
do it exactly.
Speaker 2 (34:41):
And speaking of law enforcement, and again everyone, we're talking
to Louse Shapiro. He's a very accomplished attorney. He's giving
us some free legal advice, very valuable. Listen back if
you missed it. Now, speaking of law enforcement, there are people,
Lou and this will be my last question for you
before we get into how people can reach you.
Speaker 3 (34:57):
Again, people are being detained.
Speaker 2 (35:00):
They may feel that they are being wrongfully detained or
stopped from accessing their property. Obviously, in these press conferences,
law enforcement officials, city officials have told people to stay away.
They know that people want to get back to their homes,
but to stay away. And you have people who are
looking for their pets or trying to recover things before
(35:20):
looters get to them or any modicum within Do people
have a case if they feel they've been wrongfully detained
in this situation or is it really not on their
side Because of all of the warnings and things that
have been issued publicly.
Speaker 4 (35:36):
So what I think will happen, like we see a
lot of times with like protesters, is people will get
arrested and removed if it comes to that and they're
not abiding by curfews or restrictions. But will they end
being prosecuted once they get to court a month or
two later. I doubt it. I'm not encouraging people to
do it, but I'm just giving you the practical answer.
(35:58):
I don't think the government has interest in prosecuting victims.
They've already been through enough. I think they do, though,
want a sense of decorum and order while they try
to work through and navigate this horrible disaster.
Speaker 3 (36:10):
Got it? Got it?
Speaker 2 (36:11):
Thank you so much for that, Lou, and for every
answer that you have given us. Can you please let
our listeners know how can they reach you again? Give
out your email, give out any other way, and any
last bit of advice that people can take away from you.
Speaker 4 (36:25):
Sure, I think the easiest way to reach me is
just google Lou Shapiro and then my website will come
up on my contact info there. So just google Loshapirolushapiro
dot com and you can call me or email me
through that website, and my last big advice is, I
know we've all been through a lot own we are
with you, and don't despair. There are other meths of recovery.
(36:48):
If you don't seem today, they probably will be there tomorrow.
So don't lose hope. Reach out to me, reach out
to people that know this field, and become informed. The
more informed you are, the better off you'll be in
the end of this.
Speaker 2 (36:59):
Thank you for That's a wonderful way to wrap this up.
Lou Again, thank you so very much for your time
and for everything you do sightseeing and unseen. This has
been extremely helpful and I am positive that someone listening
will take away something you've said, if not all of
what you've said, and use it to be able to
start to rebuild their lives. Thank you again, thanks for
spreading the message, Tiffany, You're so welcome. KFI AM six
(37:22):
forty live everywhere on the iHeartRadio
Speaker 1 (37:25):
App, KFI AM six forty on demand
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