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\nThe home where Marilyn Monroe died in 1962 was named a historic cultural landmark in 2024 after the urging of preservationistsIts owners say they were given no notice of the change and it has blocked their plans to demolish the structures, which they bought for $8.35 million in 2023The couple claim the home has undergone numerous renovations and seen 14 owners since Monroe’s death and no longer has meaningful ties to her<\/p>\n
The owners of the Los Angeles home<\/a> where Marilyn Monroe<\/a> died are suing the city and mayor Karen Bass after the alleged \u201cunconstitutional taking\u201d of their private residence, according to a civil complaint obtained by PEOPLE.\u00a0\n<\/p>\n Husband and wife Roy Bank and Brinah Milstein, who currently reside at the property, filed suit against the city and Bass on Jan. 23 in the Central District Court of California, Western Division. In the complaint, the owners allege L.A. took their single family Brentwood residence \u201cwithout any public purpose or just compensation\u201d through the use of the city\u2019s \u201cHistoric Cultural Monument\u201d ordinance.<\/p>\n According to the complaint, Bank and Milstein purchased the property in 2023 for $8.35 million. At the time, the purchasers bought the residence \u201cwith the clear intent of demolishing the dilapidated structures on the property,\u201d per court documents. They claim they spent an additional $30,000 to secure the proper demolition and grading permits \u2014 which the city initially approved.\u00a0\n<\/p>\n An aerial view of Marilyn Monroe’s former Los Angeles home.<\/p>\n Mario Tama\/Getty<\/p>\n However, problems began to arise for the homeowners on Sept. 8, 2023, when the City Council approved a motion, allegedly \u201cwithout any notice\u201d to the owners, to consider the property for a historic-monument designation. The motion subsequently invalidated the couple\u2019s legally issued permits.\u00a0\n<\/p>\n The complaint says the City Council ultimately approved the designation on June 26, 2024, against the wishes of the homeowners.\n<\/p>\n Bank and Milstein allege that the city shouldn\u2019t have had any interest in the home since the property\u2019s connection to the actress is far removed.\u00a0\n<\/p>\n \u201cNot a trace of Ms. Monroe\u2019s short tenure at the house remains at the property or in the house \u2014 and the house has been substantially altered by successive owners over more than sixty years,” attorneys claim in the complaint.\u00a0\n<\/p>\n Marilyn Monroe poses outside her home in 1962.<\/p>\n Gene Lester\/Getty<\/p>\n According to Variety<\/a>, the Some Like It Hot star lived in the 1929 Spanish Colonial-style house for only 6 months.\n<\/p>\n She purchased the property in February 1962 shortly after parting ways with her husband, playwright Arthur Miller. However, the civil complaint says Monroe only “occasionally occupied\u201d the house while traveling between her other residences in New York City and elsewhere.\u00a0\n<\/p>\n The actress was found dead at age 36 inside the residence in August 1962<\/a>. A coroner’s toxicology report officially listed her cause of death as acute barbiturate poisoning, as she reportedly ingested a lethal amount of Nembutal<\/a>, which is often used to treat anxiety, and a sedative called chloral hydrate. Her death was ruled an overdose and “probable suicide.”\u00a0\n<\/p>\n In the years since, the current owners say the property has had 14 different owners, undergone numerous remodels and was issued more than two-dozen building permits from the city \u2014 all done without the consideration of a historical designation.\u00a0\n<\/p>\n The complaint argues that the designation has led to \u201cthe property turning into a tourist attraction,\u201d citing traffic congestion on the dead-end street and trespassers leaping over property walls. The lawsuit specifically mentions a Nov. 7, 2025 incident in which “burglars scaled the wall\u201d and\u00a0 broke into the house allegedly searching for “memorabilia or other items.\u201d\u00a0\n<\/p>\n Bank and Milstein are suing the city and Bass citing one count of violating the Fifth Amendment\u2019s Taking Clause and one count of violating the Fifth Amendment\u2019s Just-Compensation Clause.\n<\/p>\n The couple is asking for the court to order the city to reinstate their demolition and grading permits, or to compensate them for their 2023 investment into the property.\u00a0\n<\/p>\n Los Angeles mayor Karen Bass.<\/p>\n Arnold Turner\/Getty for Los Angeles Urban League<\/p>\n