Mike Danko talks to Wall Street Journal about PG&E $1B Settlement with California Cities and Counties
According to the Wall Street Journal, PG&E announced it will pay $1 billion to settle claims with 14 California governmental agencies. This is PG&E’s first settlement since filing for bankruptcy protection in January. The settlement comes after PG&E was deemed responsible by investigators for 18 fires in Northern California during 2017 and 2018, including the deadly Camp Fire. According to the article, the cities and counties involved in the settlement will use the payment to cover the millions of dollars in disaster-related expenses they incurred as a result of the 2017/2018 fires as well as one from the fall of 2015 in Calaveras County. The agreement will not have an impact on claims made from individuals or businesses seeking compensation from PG&E, whose downed power lines originally sparked the wildfires.
Camp Fire Attorney Mike Danko compared the settlements to the $70 million settlement between PG&E and the city of San Bruno following the natural gas pipeline explosion experienced in 2010.
“These are larger numbers, which is appropriate,” he said, emphasizing the sheer death toll and level of destruction caused by the wildfires.
According to the article, Danko predicts that the utilities company will end up being responsible for more than $30 billion in damages from homeowners, insurance companies, and governmental agencies. Mike Danko and the Northern California Fire Lawyers represent 3,000 fire victims and are continuing to process claims from homeowners and those who suffered from the devastation of the 2015 and 2017 fires.
About the Northern California Fire Lawyers
Northern California Fire Lawyers is a team of more than 30 attorneys from a coalition of three Northern California law firms: Corey, Luzaich, de Ghetaldi & Riddle, Danko Meredith and Gibbs Law Group. Collectively, our fire lawyers have more experience investigating and bringing claims against PG&E than any law firm in California. Our attorneys have been appointed by California judges to leadership positions in some of the largest fire and disaster cases, including the Butte Fire Cases, 2017 and 2018 PG&E Fire Cases, and San Bruno Explosion lawsuits.
We have earned hundreds of millions of dollars in settlements and verdicts for our clients, and members of our team have been honored for their work with numerous awards, including “Top Plaintiff Lawyers in California,” “Trial Lawyer of the Year,” and “Top Women Lawyers in Northern California,” among others.