PG&E may try to shift liability for North Bay wildfires to governments
The
The company says filing the claims was merely a way to preserve its rights, and not an indication that it will actually point the finger at firefighters, urban planners and water managers for failing to stop the wildfires, which killed 24 people and destroyed nearly 5,300 homes in
Nevertheless, the filings raise the prospect the investor-owned utility will do just that if boxed into a legal corner.
"From a legal perspective, what their claim says is 'if we are held liable, you share in some of that liability,'"
The claim was filed in
In its claim,
The company also points to "water, emergency preparedness and other infrastructure for which
According to a source who works with
The inadequacy claim about the water infrastructure relates to information that water pumps failed during the fire, according to the source, who is not authorized to speak for
And there is also ample evidence in the public record that public agencies in
Gallagher called the claims "completely baseless." In addition to being untrue, the claims have no legal merit because public agencies are immune from such liability claims when they act in good faith to serve the public, she said.
"Not only from the factual basis, but also from a legal perspective, the claim is without factual basis and it has no legal grounding," Gallagher said.
Nevertheless, the claims are "not a bluff" and she expects the company to aggressively attempt to shift the liability to government agencies throughout the litigation, which she said will be complex and lengthy.
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