Pacific Gas & Electric has offered to set aside nearly $17 billion to compensate public entities as well as victims of California’s devastating wildfires who make PG&E claims, according to a recent proposal filed in California bankruptcy court.

PG&E is a natural gas and electricity giant headquartered in California and has provided these utilities to millions of Americans for decades. However, the company is now on the hook for its transmission lines causing California’s most devastating wildfire in recent history, known as the Camp Fire, in which 85 people were killed and more than 150,000 acres burned.

“After a very meticulous and thorough investigation, CAL FIRE has determined that the Camp Fire was caused by electrical transmission lines owned and operated by Pacific Gas and Electricity (PG&E),” said California fire officials in a statement.

The Camp Fire is not the only California fire that PG&E has been blamed for. Indeed, at least 1,500 California fires have been associated with the utility company.

Bankruptcy and Claim Payouts

After the slew of catastrophic wildfires that ravaged Northern California through 2017 and 2018, PG&E announced in January 2019 that it was filing for Chapter 11 bankruptcy in response.

Local governments and agencies affected by large wildfires in California that have made PG&E claims over the fires are being compensated with approximately $1 billion in settlement money from the company.

A large number of individual plaintiffs have also filed PG&E claims. As part of its Chapter 11 bankruptcy reorganization plan, PG&E has set aside about $16.9 billion to cover settlement money for all of the wildfire claims against it, from both public entities and individual claimants.

Under this current plan, PG&E is set to create two trust funds for victims of the wildfire and insurance companies. The first will prioritize victims, along with “certain limited public entities,” in a fund of no more than $8.4 billion. The second fund will provide compensation of no more than $8.5 billion to insurance companies that have covered victims’ wildfire claims.

This amount may be sufficient if the court finds the company’s total liability for the wildfires to be $16.9 billion or less. Previously, the utility company has said its liabilities may reach as high as $30 billion, or potentially even higher.

While PG&E CEO and President, Bill Johnson, said he believes the proposal allows the company to “fairly compensate wildfire victims,” counsel for the plaintiffs said the plan is “unacceptable” and does not properly compensate the more than 1,000 plaintiffs who have lost their homes to these wildfires.

Filing a California Fires Lawsuit

If you have been affected by a recent wild fire in California, you may be able to file a claim and pursue compensation. While filing a lawsuit cannot take away the pain and suffering caused by wildfire injuries, property damage, and other issues, it can at least help to alleviate the financial burden caused by this damage. Filing a lawsuit can be a daunting prospect, especially in the devastation left in the wake of a wildfire, so Top Class Actions has laid the groundwork for you by connecting you with an experienced attorney.

This article is not legal advice. It is presented
for informational purposes only.