SoCalGas wants to remove judge in Porter ranch gas leak cases

Defense counsel for Southern California Gas Company wants Los Angeles County Superior Court Judge Yvette Palazuelos removed from presiding over the hundreds of coordinated lawsuits by residents of Porter Ranch alleging claims for damages from the 2015 gas leak.

The 170.6 peremptory challenge filed by Morgan, Lewis & Bockius LLP means defense attorneys do not believe they can have a fair and impartial trial before the judge. A reason doesn't have to be given and a new judge will likely be assigned.

Palazuelos was assigned to the nearly 400 gas leak cases earlier this month after the previous presiding judge in the matter, John Shepard Wiley Jr., was elevated late last year to the 2nd District Court of Appeal.

This is the fourth challenge to an officer in the case and the first filed by the defense.

Morgan, Lewis attorney James J. Dragna, lead counsel for SoCalGas, declined comment, as did R. Rex Parris, one of the plaintiffs' attorneys involved in the litigation.

A hearing is now set for Feb. 4 to address the challenge. Southern California Gas Leak Cases, JCCP4861 (L.A. Super. Ct., filed Feb. 2, 2016).

Last year, Palazuelos presided over the Santa Monica voting rights bench trial deciding whether the city should switch from at-large to by-district voting. She ruled the system for electing the city council violated the California Voting Rights Act in addition to the equal protection clause of the 14th Amendment.

She also presided over the $1.5 billion negligence case brought by the family of Michael Jackson against concert promoter AEG for the singer's death, a case the company won.

Palazuelos was appointed in 2000 by Gov. Gray Davis after serving a decade as an assistant U.S. attorney for the Central District of California. She graduated from Stanford University and obtained her law degree from Columbia University.

A total of 150 law firms have filed claims on behalf of about 38,000 individuals in the Porter Ranch cases, alleging the ruptured gas well maintained by SoCalGas caused them harm. Litigation is now in its fourth year. Settled cases include a $119.5 million agreement to end a civil suit brought by the state of California, as well as a $4 million criminal plea deal reached between the utility and Los Angeles County. Crump v. Superior Court of Los Angeles, B292786 (Cal. App. 2nd Dist., filed Sept. 21, 2018).

The criminal case is on appeal after an appellate panel ruled individual victims deserved a right to be heard on restitution, which they did not receive under the plea deal.

Co-lead trial counsel in the civil cases are Brian Panish of Panish, Shea & Boyle LLP and Thomas Girardi of Girardi Keese. Paul Kiesel of Kiesel Law LLP is liaison counsel.