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- Owners of Marilyn Monroe's former Brentwood home are suing LA for the right to raze the property.
- They want to expand their current residence, which is located next door.
- The City Council is considering whether to designate the house where Monroe died a historic monument.
The owners of the Brentwood home where Marilyn Monroe lived and later died are suing the City of Los Angeles for the right to demolish the property.
Brinah Milstein and her husband, Roy Bank, filed a Los Angeles Superior Court lawsuit on Monday, alleging "illegal and unconstitutional conduct and abuse of power" by the city concerning the property they bought in July 2023.
According to the Los Angeles Times, they purchased the home for $8.35 million. Their intention was to demolish it and expand their current residence, which is located next door, according to the lawsuit.
Monroe died from an overdose in the Brentwood property at the age of just 36.
The plaintiffs claim they were issued a demolition permit from the city, which was initially "held" for 30 days to allow for objections.
They claim that no objections were raised and permits were subsequently issued, which led to them incurring over $30,000 in expenses before receiving actual notice of a "stay" invoked by the city.
Last September, the Los Angeles City Council intervened to temporarily halt the demolition of the home, which KCAL News reported was welcomed by fans and historians.
Scott Fortner of The Marilyn Monroe Collection, a superfan and collector, told the news outlet that the "home is the equivalent of Graceland" for Monroe fans.
He said the property, which Monroe purchased in 1962 for just over $77,000, represented a new beginning for the iconic star, following her divorce from playwright Arthur Miller.
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Fortner said the home also has significance in memorializing Monroe, noting that its front step tiles read "Cursum Perficio" — Latin for "my journey ends here."
The City Council initiated proceedings last September to consider designating the property a historic cultural monument, a move that would invalidate the demolition permits.
However, Milstein and Bank have pushed back.
They contend in the lawsuit that Monroe lived in the house for only a short period, less than six months in 1962, and that the house has been "substantially altered" over the years.
"There is not a single piece of the house that includes any physical evidence that Ms. Monroe ever spent a day at the house, not a piece of furniture, not a paint chip, not a carpet, nothing," the lawsuit says.
The lawsuit also alleges that the city's push for the designation violated its own codes, which has deprived the plaintiffs of their "vested rights as owners of real property" and has caused them "irreparable harm."
The City Council will vote on whether to declare the house a historic cultural monument by mid-June.
A statement provided by email to Business Insider by the plaintiffs' attorney, Peter C. Sheridan of Glaser Weil Fink Howard Jordan & Shapiro LLP, accused the City of Los Angeles of engaging in "an illegal and unconstitutional conspiracy."
Representatives for the City of Los Angeles did not immediately respond to a request for comment from BI.
Brentwood boasts a rich Hollywood heritage, counting Betty White and Joan Crawford among its former notable residents.
However, that rich history, combined with the high value of the land, has created tension when it comes to preservation.
Actor Chris Pratt and his wife Katherine Schwarzenegger recently caused an uproar when they demolished a midcentury modern house designed by architect Craig Ellwood to make way for a sprawling mansion.
Liz Waytkus, the US executive director of the conservation nonprofit Docomomo, told Dezeen last month that the demolition highlighted a "systemic" problem in the area.
"The land has become more valuable than the house, and even if people understand the value of such a home, location and land value often trump architectural significance," she said.
Thursday, May 9, 2024: This article has been updated with a response from Peter C. Sheridan, the attorney for Brinah Milstein and Roy Bank.