This photo shows the Eaton fire, which destroyed about 10,000 structures and killed 17 people earlier this year. (Credit: Kyle/Adobe Stock)
Los Angeles County, the cities of Pasadena and Sierra Madre and more than 100 insurers sued Southern California Edison for wildfire damages.
Baron & Budd filed all three complaints on Wednesday in Los Angeles Superior Court over the Eaton fire, which destroyed about 10,000 structures and killed 17 people earlier this year. The suits are the first brought by public entities over the Jan. 7 wildfire.
“In each of these devastating utility-caused wildfires, an enormous amount of destruction occurs to public resources including infrastructure, environmental resources and revenues, and the public entities are suing to support the communities to rebuild in the aftermath of the fire,” said one of the Baron & Budd Dallas-based partners who filed the cases, John Fiske. “I expect additional public entities to file in the future.”
A spokesperson for Southern California Edison, which is owned by Edison International, said, “Our hearts are with the communities affected by the wildfires in Southern California. We are reviewing the lawsuits that were recently filed and will address them through the appropriate legal process.”
Los Angeles County, which is home to Altadena, the hardest hit region from the Eaton fire, sought damages to buildings and facilities, natural resources, parks and trees, particularly the Eaton Canyon Natural Area Park and Nature Center, a loss of water storage and contamination, soil erosion that leads to mudslides, and costs related to emergency services, such as evacuation shelters, and debris removal, as well as a loss of tax and recreational revenues. A Los Angeles County Office of County Counsel press release estimated hundreds of millions of dollars in damages.
“We are committed to seeking justice for the Altadena community and the taxpayers of Los Angeles County,” County Counsel Dawyn R. Harrison said in a statement.
Baron & Budd filed the suit along with the Los Angeles County’s Office of County Counsel and Diab Chambers in San Diego. In addition to Los Angeles County, the plaintiffs are the Los Angeles County Flood District and the Consolidated Fire Protection District of Los Angeles County, which is the Los Angeles County Fire Department.
The cities of Pasadena and Sierra Madre alleged similar damages, including to facilities like the Rose Bowl Stadium and natural resources such as the Mount Wilson trail.
The suits all bring similar claims, including inverse condemnation, nuisance, negligence and violations of both the California Public Utilities Code and California Health and Safety Code.
More than 100 insurance firms and their affiliates, such as Allianz, Travelers and USAA, represented by a coalition of law firms that includes Cozen O'Connor and Berger Kahn, filed a Tuesday lawsuit in Los Angeles Superior Court. Their complaint estimates at least $10 billion in damages from the Eaton fire.
"Unfortunately, the evidentiary record is already clear that this tragedy was entirely preventable," the complaint says. "SCE was well aware of the risks of wildfire associated with continuously operating energized transmission lines during dry and windy weather conditions, deliberately leaving aged and out-of-use electrical equipment in the field near other high voltage, energized transmission lines and failing to remediate the overgrowth of nearby, highly flammable vegetation."
The suits add to nearly 80 cases against Edison over the Eaton fire, most of which have been consolidated before Los Angeles Superior Court Judge Laura Seigle in downtown Los Angeles. On Wednesday, the judge held a status hearing on her order for Edison to preserve evidence, including testing and inspections of its equipment. Edison’s lawyers and attorneys for residents and businesses have been fighting over the language of that order for the past month.
“We’re doing something unusual by putting an order together, and it needs to be clear,” Edison attorney Douglas Dixon, of Hueston Hennigan in Newport Beach, California, said at a previous hearing. He raised concerns about not being able to reenergize lines in the event of an emergency.
“I understand the risks,” the judge told the attorney. “It’s not good when electricity goes out.”
Note: Bronstad is an Edison customer impacted by the Eaton fire.
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