Environmental
Aug. 27, 2016
State legislature backs more legal protections for environmental disasters
Over the strong objections of business groups, the state Senate has narrowly passed a bill backed by consumer attorneys extending legal remedies for people affected by two high-profile environmental disasters in Southern California.
Daily Journal Staff Writer
SACRAMENTO — Over the strong objections of business groups, the state Senate has narrowly passed a bill backed by consumer attorneys extending legal remedies for people affected by two high-profile environmental disasters in Southern California.
AB 2748 was inspired by the Aliso Canyon natural gas leak, which began last October.
The bill applies to those affected by this event, mainly thousands of people forced to evacuate their homes in the nearby subdivision of Porter Ranch, as well as to people whose homes were contaminated by the Exide Industries battery recycling plant in Vernon.
The bill passed 23-13 in the state Senate on Tuesday.
If it becomes law, the bill would extend the statute of limitations to file civil actions from two years to three, and authorize courts to award attorney fees to winning plaintiffs. It would also bar the companies involved from requiring residents to release liability in exchange for "partial or interim payment or reimbursements."
"AB 2748 directly undermines California's public policy goals of promoting the settlement of disputes," said Anthony Samson, policy advocate for the California Chamber of Commerce , in a statement.
"It promotes a contrary policy that will eliminate the incentive to settle and will instead result in perpetual and costly litigation for all parties involved," he added.
Brian Kabateck, a partner with Kabateck Brown Kellner LLP, is one of the attorneys representing about 2,000 Porter Ranch residents against the well's owner, the Southern California Gas Company. He is also a past president of the Consumer Attorneys of California, a key backer of the bill.
"There's still a lot of wells that are operation," Kabateck said. "At this point, we don't know how many of them are leaking or will leak in the future. These homeowners should not be put in a positon where in order to get a settlement they have to release anything other than this gas leak."
The bill appeared all but dead after being voted down in the Assembly in May. The Chamber of Commerce added it to their "Job Killer" list, and a long list of groups including the Western States Petroleum Association lobbied against it.
The bill's author, Assemblyman Mike Gatto, D-Glendale, amended it to clarify that it applied only to Aliso Canyon and the Exide plant.
He was able to bring it back and pass it off the floor in June, with support from Assemblyman Scott Wilk, R-Santa Clarita, who had earlier called it a "trial lawyer's dream."
Gatto's staff said AB 2748 will likely come up for a concurrence vote in the Assembly on Monday.
malcolm_maclachlan@dailyjournal.com
Malcolm Maclachlan
malcolm_maclachlan@dailyjournal.com
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