Rains Lucia Stern St. Phalle & Silver

California's premier full-service law firm with an emphasis on the representation of peace officers in disciplinary, criminal, labor, workers' compensation, personal injury and other civil matters.

  • About Us
  • Practice Areas
    • Labor Representation
    • Civil Litigation
    • Personal Injury
      • Example of Case Results
    • Workers’ Compensation
    • Maritime Law
    • Estate Planning
    • DOE Security Clearance Hearings
    • Peace Officers
    • Firefighters
    • EMS Agency Investigations
    • Criminal Defense
    • CalPERS Appeals
  • Our Team
  • Classes
  • Media
    • Bulletins
    • RLS in the News
  • Resources
    • Links
    • Resources
    • Newsletters
  • Clients
  • Career Opportunities
  • Contact Us
  • Disclaimer

As PG&E Fire Survivors Near Deadline to Vote on Settlement, Some Still Don’t Have Ballots

May 5, 2020 by Hien Nguyen

With less than two weeks to go in a six-week vote by Northern California fire victims on a multibillion-dollar settlement deal with PG&E, some are still waiting to receive ballots.

"I haven’t received anything, and my friend in Paradise has not received one either," said Camp Fire survivor Vada Bouffard, who lost her home in Paradise and now lives in Knoxville, Tennessee.

Carolyn Acosta finds herself in the same situation. She got an email message from the court on April 3 informing her that she would be receiving a customized ballot in the mail.

"Here is it, May, and no ballot," said Acosta, who relocated to Nampa, Idaho, from the Butte County community of Magalia after her rented home was damaged in the Camp Fire. "There may be thousands of others who haven't gotten it."

Voting began on April 1 for wildfire victims with claims against PG&E — a group comprised of about 70,000 people. For PG&E's bankruptcy plan to move forward, two-thirds of those who vote on the plan must must approve it. Voting ends on May 15 as the utility races to exit bankruptcy by June 30 so it can tap a state wildfire insurance fund.

Neither Bouffard nor Acosta are represented by attorneys. They, and as many as 15,000 other PG&E fire survivors who don't have legal representation in the case, are relying on PG&E and legal services contractor Prime Clerk to receive the settlement and voting information.

After KQED first reported on potential ballot delays last week, lawyer and Nuns Fire survivor Helen Sedwick started checking in with fellow fire victims.

She says about 50 fire survivors have emailed or messaged her to say that they have not received voting materials by mail.

"I would say something has gone terribly wrong in the ballot distribution process that cannot be ignored," Sedwick said. "PG&E or the attorneys must reach out to claimants with this information. Claimants should not be expected to go looking for the materials."

The problem is not limited to victims without lawyers.

Pleasant Hill-based law firm Rains Lucia Stern, which represents about 50 fire victims, told the bankruptcy court in an affidavit filed April 30 that the coronavirus pandemic caused a weeks-long slowdown in the process of getting voting materials to clients.

Attorney Joseph Lucia wrote that Prime Clerk alerted his office in mid-April "that COVID-19 had caused delays in mail arriving in a timely manner." In response, he said his firm electronically sent solicitation packages with ballots to clients starting on April 21. It wasn't until last week, Lucia wrote, that the hard-copy solicitation documents started to show up in the mail at the firm.

Prime Clerk did not respond to KQED's request for comment.

A spokesperson for PG&E did not directly address questions about the delay, but said, "We continue to work diligently to obtain approval for our plan of reorganization by the Bankruptcy Court as soon as possible, so victims will be paid fairly and quickly."

The involvement of Wall Street interests poised to reap a windfall from the bankruptcy has left survivors like Acosta on edge. A group of mass tort lawyers has also been pushing for approval of the settlement, securing thousands of "yes" votes by text and other electronic methods. Voting online may end up being the only option, even for those wary of the integrity of the voting process.

"Why should I have to do that? They said they were going to mail it. How many others have not received theirs?" Acosta asked, noting that some fire survivors cannot afford reliable internet and cellular service or do not have easy access because of where they live. "You wonder who is actually overseeing the mailing."

Jared Ellias, a professor of bankruptcy law at UC Hastings, said the responsibility of ensuring claimants receive their solicitation packages rests with PG&E and Prime Clerk, the claims agent. But given the number of people making claims in the case, he said it's not surprising that there might be problems reaching them all.

"This is a big, complicated, messy process and it was never going to be 100 percent perfect," Ellias said. "And it's up to the bankruptcy judge to make sure that it's close enough so we can all feel confident that justice was done when it comes to the outcome of this voting process."

Voting on a Plan That's 'Not Completed'

Bouffard, the fire refugee now living in Tennessee, says that even if she had her ballot, it's still not completely clear what survivors are voting on.

Lawyers for the official committee that represents survivors in the case said last week that even as the vote takes place, they are in mediation with PG&E and other stakeholders over key terms of the deal, like when and how much the utility will pay into the survivors' trust.

"Why are we being asked to vote on something that's not completed? That just seems crazy," Bouffard said.

On paper, the settlement is worth $13.5 billion, with PG&E paying half in cash and half as PG&E stock. But with the COVID-19 pandemic roiling financial markets, the stock component may be worth less than what PG&E promised, say lawyers for the official committee of fire survivors.

"This case is not over," wrote committee attorney Robert Julian Wednesday in a brief to U.S. District Judge James Donato, who is charged with estimating the total amount of PG&E's liabilities.

In hopes of preventing "current fire victims from bearing the financial risk of a future wildfire," Julian wrote, the committee is seeking guarantees that PG&E will not withhold the first round of payment to the victims' trust until after the coming fire season.

In early April, Julian told U.S. Bankruptcy Judge Dennis Montali that when the committee agreed to the settlement, it believed PG&E would pay the cash portion by Aug. 29, before the height of the 2020 fire season.

PG&E bankruptcy attorney Stephen Karotkin told Montali PG&E never offered a concrete commitment to pay the cash by that date.

"We will make the initial funding to the Fire Victim Trust upon our emergence from Chapter 11," a PG&E spokesperson said this week. "We are on track to have our plan confirmed by June 30, 2020, and are currently targeting our emergence from Chapter 11 on or before Aug. 29, 2020."

Some fire survivors are laying blame not just at the feet of PG&E, but on the survivors' committee, which saw three fire victims resign in protest in late March and early April. Camp Fire survivor Kirk Trostle, who was the first to step down, called the settlement "deeply flawed and very risky for all fire victims" in his resignation letter.

After those resignations, the committee started publicly pushing for the guarantees from PG&E.

"The [committee] is finally waking up to how they were outlawyered by PG&E and Wall Street," Sedwick said.

Filed Under: RLS In The News Tagged With: joseph-r-lucia

Consultation Form

Offices across California to serve you.
Contact us now to schedule a consultation.
Contact form not loading? Click here!
Rains Lucia Stern St. Phalle & Silver, PC publishes this website as a service to our clients and other friends for informational purposes only. It is not intended to be used as a substitute for specific legal advice or opinions, and the transmission of information through this website is not intended to create an attorney-client relationship between sender and receiver. Internet subscribers and online readers should not act upon this information without seeking professional counsel.

© 2023 Rains Lucia Stern St. Phalle & Silver, PC. All Rights Reserved. | Disclaimer

We use cookies on our website to give you the most relevant experience by remembering your preferences and repeat visits. By clicking “Accept”, you consent to the use of ALL the cookies.
Do not sell my personal information.
Cookie settingsACCEPTREJECT
Privacy & Cookies Policy

Privacy Overview

This website uses cookies to improve your experience while you navigate through the website. Out of these cookies, the cookies that are categorized as necessary are stored on your browser as they are essential for the working of basic functionalities of the website. We also use third-party cookies that help us analyze and understand how you use this website. These cookies will be stored in your browser only with your consent. You also have the option to opt-out of these cookies. But opting out of some of these cookies may have an effect on your browsing experience.
Necessary
Always Enabled
Necessary cookies are absolutely essential for the website to function properly. This category only includes cookies that ensures basic functionalities and security features of the website. These cookies do not store any personal information.
Non-necessary
Any cookies that may not be particularly necessary for the website to function and is used specifically to collect user personal data via analytics, ads, other embedded contents are termed as non-necessary cookies. It is mandatory to procure user consent prior to running these cookies on your website.
SAVE & ACCEPT
  • Contact Us

  • News Alerts

Official logo for Rains Lucia Stern St. Phalle & Silver
Rains Lucia Stern St. Phalle & Silver Logo
  • About Us
  • Practice Areas
    ▼
    • Labor Representation
    • Civil Litigation
    • Personal Injury
      ▼
      • Example of Case Results
    • Workers’ Compensation
    • Maritime Law
    • Estate Planning
    • DOE Security Clearance Hearings
    • Peace Officers
    • Firefighters
    • EMS Agency Investigations
    • Criminal Defense
    • CalPERS Appeals
  • Our Team
  • Classes
  • Media
    ▼
    • Bulletins
    • RLS in the News
  • Resources
    ▼
    • Links
    • Resources
    • Newsletters
  • Clients
  • Career Opportunities
  • Contact Us
  • Disclaimer
Hotline phone numbers. Northern California: 925-609-1699. Southern California: 310-393-1486.