The Langham Huntington in Pasadena has agreed to pay $320,000 to Los Angeles County agencies and refund more than $216,000 to hotel guests after prosecutors said the luxury property raised room rates for wildfire evacuees during the January 2025 fires. The settlement, announced this week, resolves a consumer protection case brought by the Los Angeles County District Attorney’s Office and County Counsel and requires changes to the hotel’s pricing systems during emergencies.
Settlement details
As reported by Pasadena Now, Langham Hotels Pacific Corporation will pay $300,000 in civil penalties and $20,000 in investigative costs, and the parties calculated $216,795 in refunds owed to guests who stayed between January and April 2025. The company "cooperated with the investigation" and did not admit liability, according to the outlet, and the case (civil case 26STCV18042) was prosecuted by Head Deputy Alex Karkanen and Assistant Head Deputy Steven Wang of the DA’s Consumer Protection Division.
Emergency rules that applied
Gov. Gavin Newsom proclaimed a state of emergency for Los Angeles and Ventura counties on Jan. 7, 2025, which triggered California’s price gouging protections under Penal Code §396. Per Executive Order N‑11‑25, as posted by the California Department of Transportation, those protections limit certain price increases during declared emergencies and formed the legal basis for local enforcement after the wildfires.
County enforcement and timeline
The Los Angeles County Board of Supervisors repeatedly extended local price gouging protections for housing, most recently keeping them in place through March 29, 2026, as detailed in meeting materials from the Los Angeles County Board of Supervisors. Supervisor Lindsey Horvath’s office said the county was pursuing nearly 1,900 price gouging investigations tied to the January wildfires, underscoring the scale of complaints and scrutiny, according to Lindsey Horvath. The Board said the monthly extensions were necessary to protect displaced residents.
Legal implications
Under California Penal Code §396, selling goods or services, including hotel lodging, at more than 10% above the pre emergency price can lead to criminal charges as well as civil enforcement under the state’s unfair competition laws, the California Department of Justice explains. That dual civil and criminal framework is why local prosecutors have pursued settlements that combine restitution with penalties while keeping the door open to further review in particularly serious cases.
How refunds and fixes will work
Under the settlement, Langham must issue refunds to eligible guests for amounts paid above the maximum allowable rate and turn over any undeliverable refund amounts to the Los Angeles County Department of Consumer and Business Affairs for distribution. The company is also required to modify automated or algorithmic pricing systems to prevent unlawful spikes during emergencies. "This settlement provides full refunds of the illegal overcharges to consumers who were price gouged during a horrifying wildfire emergency and sends a message to other businesses to comply with the law," Los Angeles County Counsel Dawyn R. Harrison said in a statement reported by Pasadena Now.
What to do if you were overcharged
Guests who believe they were charged more than the allowable rate during the emergency can report suspected price gouging to the county’s Department of Consumer and Business Affairs, which maintains a complaint portal and handles undeliverable refunds, according to the Los Angeles County Department of Consumer and Business Affairs. The Langham settlement is one of several enforcement moves county officials have used while they continue to investigate and pursue complaints stemming from the January 2025 fires.
