More lawsuits filed against PG&E over Northern California wildfires

The last of the Northern California wildfires that killed 43 people and burned more than 100,000 acres was fully contained Tuesday, but legal action against Pacific Gas & Electric Company is just starting to escalate.

Mary Alexander of Mary Alexander & Associates PC filed a lawsuit against PG&E Thursday, alleging gross negligence.

Her case is the most recent of 18 complaints filed in state court contending that the utility company was responsible for the wine country fires.

“PG&E is responsible and should be held accountable,” Alexander said. “They put profit before safety.”

A safety report by PG&E filed to the California Public Utilities Commission said that windstorms blew branches and toppled trees into PG&E power lines throughout large areas of Northern California. The two-page report did not indicate whether the damaged equipment started the wildfires.

“We are aware that lawsuits have been filed,” said PG&E spokesperson Ari Vanrenen. “Beyond that, we’re going to be focused on doing everything we can to help these communities rebuild and recover.”

Alexander represents 12 survivors from Redwood Valley in Mendocino County, which was among the first areas where the wildfires started. The complaint claims that PG&E failed to maintain its equipment and did not properly trim vegetation to prevent contact with power lines. Ruiz et al. v. Pacific Gas and Electric Company, CGC-17-562251 (S.F. Super. Ct., filed Nov. 2, 2017).

Eight suits have been filed in San Francisco County, along with nine in Sonoma County, alleging that PG&E is responsible, for the same reasons.

“This company has a history of not managing vegetation around lines,” said Bill Robins III of Robins Cloud LLP, who filed four of the cases against PG&E. “It looks like there’s evidence where that happened here — power lines going down where there was a lot of dry vegetation.”

A group of law firms representing Sonoma County wildfire survivors, which call themselves California Fire Lawyers, petitioned to coordinate all pretrial proceedings under the complex litigation department in San Francisco County Superior Court on Tuesday. The group filed a suit against PG&E on behalf of more than 50 residents, mostly from Santa Rosa, on Friday.

Seven cases with 107 plaintiffs were listed in the Judicial Council Coordination Proceedings petition. Plaintiffs not listed on the motion and survivors yet to file a suit will also have the option to join the coordination effort.

“The purpose behind the petition is to avoid disparate rulings and legal chaos,” said John Fiske of Baron & Budd PC, who is also a member of California Fire Lawyers. “This is what we believe is going to be the tip of the iceberg. We believe there’ll be thousands of plaintiffs eventually.”