Wildfire victims, insurers ask PG&E bankruptcy judge for a trial on disputed cause of the Tubbs fire

Jul. 7--Lawyers representing wildfire victims and insurance companies in the PG&E bankruptcy case have asked a federal judge to allow a trial over the cause of the Tubbs fire, the most destructive blaze of 2017 and one of the few catastrophic infernos from October of that year that investigators said wasn't caused by the utility's electrical equipment.

In court filings this week, lawyers called the Cal Fire investigation "flawed" and requested the bankruptcy judge overseeing PG&E's reorganization allow a California jury to decide whether the utility is responsible for the Tubbs fire. The fire ignited near Calistoga and burned west across the Mayacamas Mountains, killing 22 people and destroying more than 5,600 structures, including 4,651 homes, most of them in Santa Rosa's Fountaingrove and Coffey Park neighborhoods.

The legal maneuver is aimed at ensuring homeowners, insurers and others with losses from the Tubbs fire don't get short shrift when it comes to payouts. The filings signaled a trial would focus on allegations PG&E failed to take safety precautions during times of high fire danger and advance an opposing theory about how the Tubbs fire started.

"PG&E has denied liability and denies that it was responsible for the Tubbs fire," Robert Julian, an attorney representing a committee of wildfire victims in the bankruptcy case, said in an interview. "In our view, there should be a jury trial to determine whether PG&E caused or contributed to the fire in order to permit the parties to create a plan of reorganization in the case."

The motion would require U.S. Bankruptcy Judge Dennis Montali to lift a stay, issued after PG&E filed for bankruptcy protection in January, that put all civil cases against the utility on hold. The motions are scheduled to be discussed July 24 in U.S. Bankruptcy Court in San Francisco.

A PG&E spokesman said the company is reviewing the motion "and will respond before the due date set by the court."

"We remain focused on supporting our customers and communities impacted by wildfires and helping them recover and rebuild," PG&E spokesman Paul Doherty said. "The Chapter 11 process will support the orderly, fair and expeditious resolution of PG&E's potential liabilities resulting from wildfires. There is a stay against all pending lawsuits and the institution of new lawsuits."

The request comes as negotiations over compensation for those with losses from wildfires sparked by PG&E electricity are gaining momentum. The process is under added pressure from Gov. Gavin Newsom, who proposed a plan to create a fund to pay for future wildfire costs that hinges on the investor-owned utility's ability to exit bankruptcy protection by the middle of next year.

PG&E is facing about $30 billion in claims from victims of wildfires in 2018 and 2017, by some estimates. Lawyers representing wildfire victims have suggested the amount might be nearly double that figure after calculating uninsured losses, court documents state.

Last month, PG&E reached a tentative agreement to pay $415 million to about dozen North Bay governments and public agencies with wildfire losses from 2017, including costs incurred in Sonoma County from the Tubbs fire. That agreement, which must be approved by the bankruptcy judge, was part of a larger $1 billion proposal to settle local government claims against PG&E from the past two years of wildfires and help compensate for costs to taxpayers from the disasters.

___

(c)2019 The Press Democrat (Santa Rosa, Calif.)

Visit The Press Democrat (Santa Rosa, Calif.) at www.pressdemocrat.com

Distributed by Tribune Content Agency, LLC.