Plaintiffs’ lawyers fund group to lobby against utility-backed bills to limit fire liability

SACRAMENTO — A coalition formed to oppose Pacific Gas & Electric Co. on bills related to wildfire liability has raised $564,206 in less than four months — all of it from trial attorneys.

But Patrick McCallum, the lobbyist for Up From the Ashes, said the group represents hundreds of recent victims of wildfires who are afraid utilities will be able to escape liability for fires caused by power lines.

He added that the group has spent $54,999 in lobbying so far — an amount he said pales by comparison to the about $1.7 million disclosed by PG&E in lobbying reports filed July 31.

Another person close to the effort shared a list of 596 fire victims who they said are members of the group. Dozens of these people are expected to attend legislative hearings on wildfire liability scheduled for Tuesday and Thursday.

The hearings will provide an opportunity to comment on SB 901, a utility-backed bill that could allow the companies to reduce their liability if they can show they made a good faith effort to safely maintain the power lines. It would also require new safety plans and disclosures from line owners.

The two sides have also been debating a similar bill, SB 1088. Each bill would modify California’s somewhat unusual “inverse condemnation” standard, which holds that utilities can be held liable even without negligence. While the group’s disclosures show McCallum has lobbied on SB 1088, the group is not listed among the official opposition to that bill or SB 901.

McCallum has testified in legislative hearings how he and his wife fled the fires in Santa Rosa in October while wearing their pajamas.

“We not only lost everything but we almost died that night,” McCallum said when reached on Friday.

McCallum argued it is PG&E that is engaging in efforts to create the false appearance of a grassroots campaign while spending big on more traditional media efforts. He noted a line in the company’s latest disclosures: “$1,137,136.22 relates to payments to grassroots and other advocacy related to state legislative proposals.”

That money was not required to be itemized. PG&E spokeswoman Lynsey Paulo said she was not aware of any particular groups that received money.

“The grassroots activity can include public education efforts,” Paulo said. “It can also include payments to vendors or organizations, or even employee times. State regulators have really taken a very broad view of what is included in advocacy and PG&E has taken every step to comply with the law.”

She added that wildfire liability is “the biggest issue facing our company.” Officers with PG&E have warned it could eventually be forced out of business under the current standards.

The opposing group’s money, meanwhile, is coming from some of the top plaintiffs’ firms in the state. It includes $127,500 from California Fire Lawyers, a coalition of five plaintiffs’ firms.

Eleven other firms gave $50,000 apiece. This group includes Lieff Cabraser Heimann & Bernstein LLP in San Francisco, Sacramento’s Dryer Babich Buccola Wood Campora LLP, and Cotchett, Pitre & McCarthy LLP.

Cotchett partner Frank Pitre is listed as the lobbying group’s officer, and also leads a class action lawsuit against PG&E over last year’s fires. He did not return a call seeking comment.

The International Brotherhood of Electrical Workers Local 1245, which has been part of a coalition working with PG&E, filed a complaint with the Fair Political Practices Commission on May 1. It claimed the group was a “front organization created to conceal the identities of law firms who do not want the public to know they are paying a lobbyist to persuade the government to preserve billions of dollars in legal fees.”

The commission dismissed the complaint on July 26 after an investigation found the group had properly complied with all disclosure requirements.

“It was a tactic to take away my voice, an ineffective tactic rejected by the FPPC,” McCallum said.

The bulk of the group’s spending, $509,206, has gone to McNally Temple Associates Inc., a Sacramento political and media consultancy. McCallum said much of this has been spent on direct mail and advertising designed to influence public opinion and raise awareness of the wildfire liability issue.