Latest news with #DougBoxer
Yahoo
6 days ago
- Business
- Yahoo
California utility creates fund for victims of January's deadly Eaton Fire near LA
LOS ANGELES (AP) — Southern California Edison announced this week that it will create a fund to compensate victims of January's devastating Eaton Fire near Los Angeles. Investigators haven't yet determined a cause for the blaze that killed 19 people and destroyed more than 9,400 homes and other structures in Altadena. The creation of the Wildfire Recovery Compensation Program seems to suggest that the utility is prepared to acknowledge what several lawsuits claim: that its equipmentsparked the conflagration. 'Even though the details of how the Eaton Fire started are still being evaluated, SCE will offer an expedited process to pay and resolve claims fairly and promptly,' Pedro Pizarro, chief executive of Edison International, the utility's parent company, said in a statement Wednesday. 'This allows the community to focus more on recovery instead of lengthy, expensive litigation.' It is not clear how much money the utility will contribute to the fund. A lawsuit filed by Los Angeles County in March claims that costs and damage estimates were expected to total hundreds of millions of dollars, with assessments ongoing. SCE said the compensation program, which will go into effect this fall, would be open to those who lost homes, rental properties or businesses. It would also cover those who suffered injuries, were harmed by smoke or had family members who were killed. The LA Fire Justice, which advocates for wildfire victims, said in a statement that the program's creation shows that SCE is prepared to accept responsibility. But the nonprofit said a similar fund by Pacific Gas & Electric following wildfires in Northern California was slow to roll out and inefficient. 'Experience suggests that these direct payments for victims are neither quick, nor easy, nor equitable. PG&E offered a similar program and wildfire victims ended up receiving inadequate compensation, and it didn't happen fast," said Doug Boxer, an attorney for LA Fire Justice. The SCE payment plan is being created by administrators who helped form similar programs, including the September 11th Victim Compensation Fund of 2001. LA County previously won more than $64 million in a settlement with Southern California Edison over the 2018 Woolsey Fire. Investigators determined SCE's equipment sparked that blaze, and the utility also paid more than $2 billion to settle related insurance claims. Utility equipment has sparked some of the deadliest and most destructive fires in state history in recent years. Investigators are also working to determine the cause of the Palisades Fire, which broke out shortly before the Eaton Fire and killed 12 people and destroyed thousands of structures in Los Angeles. The Associated Press
Yahoo
05-02-2025
- Business
- Yahoo
Another lawsuit claims SoCal Edison equipment started Eaton Fire
The Brief A new lawsuit is blaming Southern California Edison's equipment for starting the Eaton Fire. SoCal Edison says it's still too early to determine the fire's cause. This lawsuit is at least the second blaming SCE for the Eaton Fire. LOS ANGELES - Another group has filed a lawsuit against Southern California Edison blaming the company's equipment for sparking the deadly Eaton Fire in Altadena and Pasadena. SoCal Edison says it's still too early to pinpoint a cause, but those who filed the lawsuit say they're confident SCE is to blame. "Southern California Edison started the Eaton Fire, and we're here to get justice and hold them accountable," said attorney Doug Boxer at a press conference Tuesday. Boxer, along with the group LA Fire Justice, put together a 3D model of Altadena using surveillance footage and witness testimony, and they say it pinpoints the Eaton Fire's origin. "In the years I've been doing this, along with my litigating partner, this evidence is pretty clear-cut," Boxer said. SUGGESTED: Eaton Fire cause: New video appears to show origin of deadly blaze, attorneys say SoCal Edison is pushing back against those claims, however. "At this point in time, no one knows what started the Eaton Fire," Kathleen Dunleavy with SoCal Edison. "The investigation is at a very early stage." SCE says it's working with investigators to determine if their equipment was at fault, though they haven't said how long the investigation will take. "We will continue to investigate the involvement of SCE's equipment," said Dunleavy. In a separate lawsuit, attorney Jay Edelson released a video showing an apparent spark at a transmission tower right before the Eaton Fire spread. Boxer questioned why that transmission tower wasn't powered off, despite the National Weather Service issuing strong wind warnings in the area. SoCal Edison CEO Steven D. Powell recently told the LA Times that the winds that day were not strong enough to trigger a de-energization at that transmission station. SoCal Edison has 30 days to respond to this most recent lawsuit.
