The Los Angeles Department of Water and Power is dusting off a 114-year-old court ruling to argue the utility can’t be sued for not providing enough water to fight the monstrous Pacific Palisades fire because it didn’t have a contract to do so.

Attorneys from Munger, Tolles & Olson, a Los Angeles law firm, are relying on a 1911 California Supreme Court decision to defend the LADWP against multiple lawsuits blaming the utility for running out of water to fight the blaze that started Jan. 7. Simply put, attorneys argue, the utility didn’t have a contract to provide the water.

“California courts have long rejected attempts to hold water utilities liable for a failure to provide water to fight fires, absent some specific contract to do so,” wrote LADWP lawyers in a document submitted to the court.

Attorneys have citied the case of Niehaus Bros. Co. v. Contra Costa Water, which involved a dispute between a utility and landowner whose mill burned down after he stopped paying his water bill. In that case, the landowner had a contract with one water district to supply water to fire hydrants on his property, but stopped paying when the district changed hands and the new owners raised the rates.

Alexander Robertson, one of the attorneys suing LADWP, said the argument doesn’t make sense, especially since the utility’s own manual states the reservoir for the Pacific Palisades area was built specifically to aid fire suppression and other “customer needs.”

Additionally, Robertson said the lawsuit does not allege breach of contract, but rather inverse condemnation, meaning government action caused the damage — an argument that he said is exempt from immunities cited by LADWP.

“LADWP’s reliance upon a 114-year old case misses the mark,” Robertson said.

LADWP officials did not comment on the issue.

The legal wrangling comes as numerous victims of the fire that destroyed more than 7,000 structures and claimed 12 lives file lawsuits blaming the LADWP after fire hydrants ran dry as the nearby Santa Ynez Reservoir sat empty. Some of  the complaints also allege that sparking or downed power lines exacerbated the inferno.

The agency’s 117-million-gallon reservoir in Pacific Palisades had been empty for nearly a year, awaiting repairs to its cover. That left the community with only 3 million gallons of water in three separate tanks to fight the mammoth fire. The hydrants went dry after 12 hours.

Calling the lack of water “deeply troubling,” Gov. Gavin Newsom has ordered an independent investigation into the LADWP’s management of the reservoir and water system.

Martin Adams, former general manager and chief engineer for the LADWP, said he is unfamiliar with any contract that would promise continuous water for firefighting.

“I don’t know if the city would issue a contract like that, that would leave no room for a big break or to do more work. That would make it impossible to do routine maintenance,” Adams said. He added that LADWP’s water system wasn’t designed for such a big fire and outperformed standards, even with the dry Santa Ynez Reservoir.

LADWP customers are bound by the utility’s rules for service, which state the agency does not guarantee a continuous or sufficient supply or freedom from interruption, Adams noted.