Michael Burry has sued a California city over a housing development he warns could become a wildfire death trap.
The “Big Short” investor, 54, is taking on Saratoga through his nonprofit Citizens for Responsible and Equitable Development, which filed a petition in Santa Clara County Superior Court on Sept. 17. The target is Masson Estates, a 25-unit project planned for a wooded 72.45-acre site at 14791 Pierce Road near Mountain Winery.
Burry’s group contends the development will cram roughly 70 new residents onto a state-designated “Very High Fire Hazard Severity Zone.” The petition claims the City Council greenlit the project “despite overwhelming evidence of public health and safety hazards,” with some members allegedly admitting on the record that they feared “legal retribution by the state Housing and Community Development.”
The Planning Commission had actually rejected the proposal on July 8, finding that its benefits did not outweigh the risks to emergency access and evacuation. The developer appealed that denial, and on Aug. 19 the City Council reversed course, granting the appeal, approving Masson Estates, and certifying its environmental impact report. Burry’s group notes both the commission’s rejection and the council’s approval were unanimous votes.
The homes would range from 2,375 to 7,723 square feet on lots spanning 2,086 to 86,351 square feet. Site improvements including roads and public utilities would be concentrated on roughly 18 acres at the northern portion of the property. The construction plan also calls for removing nearly 367 protected trees, about 53% of the 682 such trees on the land.
In a Sept. 23 Substack post, Burry argued the project relies entirely on the “builder’s remedy” loophole, a rule that lets developers bypass local zoning restrictions provided at least 20% of units are designated affordable. His petition asserts that stated benefits like housing, a public trail, and a retaining wall cannot outweigh the documented risk to life.
The Sierra Club’s Loma Prieta Chapter had already pushed back against the approval in August, circulating an electronic petition urging local officials to reverse their decision on similar safety grounds.
A hearing on Burry’s lawsuit is reportedly scheduled for January 2027.
Burry became a household name after Christian Bale portrayed him in the 2015 film “The Big Short,” which dramatized his early-2000s wager against subprime mortgages that yielded massive profits when the housing market crashed. He has since maintained a reputation for contrarian bets and vocal criticism of market structures he views as flawed.
