Fire Victim Trust to Increase Pro Rata Payments to California Fire Survivors From 45% to 60% Based on Recent Stock Sales. On the surface, that has potential to be a good thing. The number of claimants, variety of claims, quantity of claims, and size of the multi-billion dollar fund make this one of the largest and most complex mass tort settlements in California history. At the closing of the PG&E bankruptcy trial in July 2020, Judge Dennis Montali (the judge and only judge presiding over the PG&E bankruptcy proceeding) proclaimed and I paraphrase and quote him: This PG&E $13.5 billion dollar wildfire victim settlement will allow for victims of the wildfires to be compensated for their losses quickly and fairly. That finally sounded good to the 68,870 families who lost homes and personal property in 2015, 2017, and 2018 Northern California wildfires for which PG&E was accused of and admitted to in court their negligence for our losses and was now officially named responsible for our losses. Gov. 1 Sansome Street, Ste 2830 However, that tweaks failure to reduce the need of central bank intervention has left the BOJ with little appetite for more compromises. SAN FRANCISCO (AP) A trust approved by a federal judge to help compensate victims of deadly California wildfires sparked by Pacific Gas & Electric equipment paid survivors just $7 million while racking up $51 million in overhead in its first year of operation, KQED News reported. Https://Inthesetimes.Com/Article/California-Fire-Victims-Awaiting-Payment-from-Utility-Company Retrieved June 5, 2022, from https://inthesetimes.com/article/california-fire-victims-awaiting-payment-from-utility-company, (11) Morris, J. M. (2021, August 23). Whether you are traveling, We support the Federal Insurance Office in their efforts to gather national data to get a clear picture of how insurers are adapting their operations in response to climate change, and how their actions are impacting property insurance affordability and availability across the nation.. March 12, 2021, San Francisco On Monday, March 15, the Fire Victim Trust (FVT) will begin distributing the first round of pro rata payments toward satisfying the claims of individuals and families who suffered losses in the 2015 Butte Fire, 2017 North Bay Fires and 2018 Camp Fire. Prior Trustee updates are included on the Documents page here. (18), (1) Jamali, L. J. 0 Under the terms of their bankruptcy, PG&E pledged to pay victims $13.5 billion in cash and expected stock sales. federal and state agency claims. I have tried to work cooperatively with the Trustee while pressing for payments to be expedited with greater transparency and accountability, he said in the statement to this newspaper. As PG&E Fire Victim Trust Racks Up $51 Million In Fees, Survivors Wait For Help While fire victims waited, a special PG&E Fire Victim Trust in charge of compensating survivors racked up $51 million in overhead costs last year. The Trust issues Determination Notices daily and issues payments twice a month. And we certainly should not be asking them to pay taxes on funds that are going to their lawyers this would be double taxing the settlement dollars. The IRS letter echoed articles you have And one-half (i.e., $6.75 billion) of the victims settlement languishes in PGEs underperforming stock.(1,2,3,4,5,6,13). Jul 11, 2022 | Casualty Gain, PG&E Settlement. These include the more comprehensive data now available to the Trust as more and more fire victims claims are filed and analyzed.. The PGE 2020 Bankruptcy and PGE Fire Victim Trust. Retrieved June 5, 2022, from https://www.insurancejournal.com/news/west/2022/05/06/666497.htm, (3) Allyn, J. As of a week ago, the trustee had paid $4.05 billion to more than 46,000 victims. 153 0 obj <>stream By filing for Chapter 11, PG&E will be allowed to continue its business operations while restructuring its debts and resolving liabilities. In the aftermath of each fire, thousands of people sought refuge in their vehicles, emergency tent communities or FEMA camps. 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At the time of that delivery, the stock was trading at approximately $9 per share, he wrote. The FVT was created in July 2020 and funded with both cash and shares of stock pursuant to PG&Es Chapter 11 Plan of Reorganization. To download an extensive set of FAQs, click here. Then I could go deeper based on what I read. For many Fire Victims, the pro rata payment will not mark the first time they have received compensation from the FVT. Instead he chose to take a huge loss for us. %%EOF Justice John K. Trotter (Ret. On November 15, 2022, the Trustee posted responses to fire survivors' questions submitted during a recent meeting hosted by Sonoma County Supervisors Susan Gorin and James Gore. Were not quite there yet, but getting closer! The FVT laid the groundwork for releasing pro rata payments in mid-February when it began sending Claims Determination Notices to Fire Victims whose claims had been fully processed and evaluated. Congressman LaMalfa says that gives them through the end of the year to get the legislation passed. Many, if not all the victims lawyers, surely wanted the clock to start as soon as possible. Insurance Journal. At that time, 476,995,175 shares of common stock were transferred to the Trust. We are sympathetic to the fact that the complicated claims evaluation and payout process required by both California law and bankruptcy law can be hard for anyone to understand, said Yanni. In retrospect, perhaps Judge Montali might have selected a Trustee in the prime of his career and less stubborn about getting his way or the highway and less sensitive to constructive public criticism. Our experienced mass tort attorneys provide consultations at no cost and with no obligation. The victims approval of the bankruptcy deal ($13.5 half in cash and half in PG&E stock) which by itself was unprecedented, that is, that victims would have to take a stock from its defendant for half of their settlement. After Appeal (or any earlier point at which the Fire Victim accepts their determination), the determination becomes final, and the claims move into the payment process. The victims had minimal input into this process. The lawsuits were subsequently coordinated into a single mass tort proceeding in San Francisco County Superior Court (JCCP No. I hope 2023 will be a good year for fire survivors and am delighted to share that the Fire Victim Trust announced today that it will be increasing pro rata payments from 45 percent to 60 percent effective January 31, 2023. Newsom, you approved this bankruptcy plan and you have the authority and resources at your disposal to correct the inequities to victims created by this plan. "We remain right on the exact same spot with the identical house we replaced," said Internicola. He said his rent is triple what he paid for his mortgage in Paradise. {-k3}- &l=g`ns u' A total of 71,394 Fire Victims filed claims by the February 26, 2021, deadline. Each and every claim must be substantiated and evaluated by the FVT in a comprehensive and methodical process carried out by an experienced team of professionals under the direction of court-appointed Trustee Justice John K. Trotter (ret.) This creates a multi-step process under which if even one claim is missing information, the Trust must notify the Fire Victim (or their lawyer, if represented) and await supplemental documents before finalizing its review and issuing a Determination Notice. If you're on the ABC7 News app, click here to watch live, Videos show parade of storms toppling trees across SF Bay Area, The warning signs your tree may fall during next storm, 18 killed in helicopter crash near Kyiv, Ukraine, including children. @TheDaraKam is back in the Terracotta Room talking about property insurance, this week with consumer advocate Amy Bach, executive director of @UPHelp The Claims Resolution Procedures approved in PG&Es bankruptcy cases require the Trust to issue a single Determination Notice that includes all claims in each Claims Questionnaire. And their fees are paid directly from PGE Fire Victim Trust funds designated primarily for the victims loss compensation from the PG&E settlement. ), Trustee of the Fire Victims Trust, announced in a letter to fire victims Tuesday that he will be retiring effective June 30. Victims, however, have been waiting 4, 5 and 6 years for their compensation which, when it comes to the lucky few, is pennies on the dollar. The trust, which he took over two years ago, was funded with $13.5 billion, half in cash and half in the PG&E common stock. John K. Trotter (ret.) Closing this discount would more than double its $18 billion market capitalization. Read the responses here. Newsom put his imprimatur on this deal and soon thereafter gave PG&E a safety regulation pass so they could exit the bankruptcy process and continue to operate with business as usual, that is, with little ongoing responsibility for making major wildfire mitigation efforts to their electric service lines and a backstop of California tax payers funds to payoff their next victims at 100% of their losses. Trust announced the sale of 60 million shares of PG&E stock, resolution of the 10th Read the responses, , the Trust sent letters in support of H.R. California Court Gives Policyholders a Boost: Appellate Panel Publishes Pro-Policyholder COVID-19 Decision, Storm recovery: Find resources here as Santa Cruz County agencies, community groups scramble to coordinate, Meetings educate public on insurance, resources after floods. The trust has also dealt with 100 emotional distress claims along with more than 20,000 loss of income claims and 38,000 real and personal property claims, which include the value of loss of vegetation and the cost of tree replacement. Fix the Biggest Victim Economy created and approved by you and Judge Montali. Review our firm's. RELATED: Fire Victim Trust answers questions about $51 million spent as CA wildfire victims await payments. 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Trust announced the sale of 60 million shares of PG&E stock, resolution of the 10th He (and now Ms. Yanni) has complete discretion over when and how much to sell the victims PGE shares. "What's the biggest hold up here," asked ABC7 News I-Team Reporter Melanie Woodrow. "All legislation that is not passed and signed does lapse as of January 2nd so we would put that bill right out on January 3rd as soon as the swearing in is over with and get going again because our constituents have waited long enough," said LaMalfa. He said in his letter that the trust still owns 377 million shares of the utilitys stock. He said their first task was to design a system that allowed 70,000 fire victims to make claims, which he said took time to create and make it capable of receiving and reviewing more than 250,000 unique claims. Since then Trotter said they have received more than 19,000 personal injury claims and more than 400 death claims. 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