Lawsuit against community brigade volunteers roils city
By Judy Abel · Sun Jul 26 2026
Los Angeles Emergency Preparedness Foundation responds
As the city of Malibu recovers from the biggest catastrophe it’s faced in recent history, and the community is in the depths of a long and painful rebuilding process, an unfortunate lawsuit brought against Malibu’s Community Brigade volunteers has roiled the community even further. After nearly two dozen Malibu residents voiced their support for the volunteer, boots-on-the-ground brigade made up of friends and neighbors, The Malibu Times posed questions to the Los Angeles Emergency Preparedness Foundation that filed the lawsuit.
Attorney Ali Parvaneh first explained that he would be answering questions instead of LAEPF cofounder and CEO Brent Woodworth, a Malibu resident. This is standard procedure in active litigation. Parvaneh’s client is the LAEPF. “There is no matter currently pending where Brent is individually involved,” he stated. He also confirmed that Woodworth’s position has been unpaid since the entity’s founding 18 years ago. Board members are also not compensated. While Parvaneh was unsure of where board members live, he did state that one board member moved from Malibu “as a result of public pressure and ongoing attacks, and in fact some personal attacks threatening his own well-being.”
When asked about more transparent governance over the Community Brigade and that a majority of the volunteers reportedly no longer support operating under the LAEPF or Woodworth’s authority, Parvaneh responded, “That comment is made in a vacuum and in the absence of any pre-existing data or facts. All financial information and administrative information have always been in the open. Data is available through the end of calendar year 2024 for the last 18 years, for the last 17 years. The calendar year 2025 financial data is currently under an audit.
"In preparation for this conversation, I have talked to the auditors. They have been asked to conduct an audit with an extreme degree of confidence. Sampling that can be in the 20 or 30 percentile has now been increased to as much as 70%. All financial transactions are deeply audited. The results of that audit will be published in approximately six weeks. When someone tells me in the absence of information that there is no transparency, I can tell you that that person is ill-informed.”
Data can be requested through Parvaneh’s office at (949) 756-9050.
When asked about allegations that donated funds and assets are not accessible the attorney replied, “Those allegations are false.” Parvaneh said $200,000 came from Malibu last year. “When funds come from a particular donor, with a particular purpose in mind, that is how the funds are kept and that is how they are spent. These funds from the city of Malibu were earmarked specifically for the city," he said. "$100,000 out of the 200,000 has thus far been spent, primarily on equipment. $100,000 remains in LAEPF’s accounts. Other funds have also come from other donors, some of which are general funds. Those funds are not earmarked for a particular city or particular purpose, but they're generally spent for LAEPF.” Since Malibu is one of 10 cities the LAEPF benefits, monies are distributed amongst them. “When others have given donations to LAEPF, they go to benefit all of the 10 cities, including the city of Malibu. The city has received far, far more than the amount of donations it has made to LAEPF,” Parvaneh said.
Responding to concerns about reported low morale of volunteers since the LAEPF filed its lawsuit and its effect on community fire preparedness efforts, Parvaneh said, “Before we had to launch this litigation, we've gone through three rounds of private attempts to mediate with our opponents and their council. All rounds resulted in a demand by our opponents that we basically shut down LAEPF, turn over all funds from all donors, all equipment, and everything over to a group of individuals who at that point were not even a charitable foundation; money that has been given to a charity. These individuals said you’ve got to turn that money over to us, private citizens, and we'll do with it as we wish.” Parvaneh went on to explain, "We, a nonprofit, cannot receive charitable funds from other people and then turn around and hand it to people that do not serve its purpose. A nonprofit has a stated purpose. It’s governed by laws and if it starts to spend that money outside of that stated purpose, the officers of the nonprofit have committed violations of numerous laws … We're duty bound to protect these assets and make sure this entity is here to perform tomorrow.
“To say that the lawsuit has affected morale, it has affected the morale of a couple of defendants, absolutely, because those individuals are wrongdoers.”
The attorney asserted that at least one defendant deleted data concerning homes that are in danger and other misconduct. “They have damaged the community," he said. "Once the lawsuit is out, the community will see the benefit it receives from the prosecution of this lawsuit.”
Looking for a resolution, the attorney stated, “We still continue to work with one member from the City Council to see if a resolution can be reached. We have sent a memorandum of understanding to deal with an emergency. We do not intend to jeopardize the safety of the city or its residents and we will go through whatever means possible to aid, make sure emergency services are in place, and with a resolution at hand that does not involve the destruction of LAEPF's assets or those funds and equipment that are here for the benefit of the community.”