Eaton Fire Lawsuits—the Good, the Bad and the Ugly

GUEST OPINION

“We Love Altadena” sign at Woodbury and Los Robles (Photo – Melissa Michelson)

Lawyers will play an important role in making sure that survivors of this fire are fairly compensated, but they also will be engaged in activities that do not serve the community.

By Charles T. “Ted” Mathews

Many bar associations and law firms are offering free services to help survivors of this catastrophe deal  with insurance companies and government agencies to make sure that citizens get the compensation and help they need. Right now, however, shattered and confused fire survivors are being barraged by law firms and their “runners” telling them to sign up and be part of a lawsuit.

More Plaintiffs + higher legal fees

The fires are still burning, homes are destroyed, businesses are leveled or disrupted, but already some lawyers are racing to the courthouse to file lawsuits accusing Southern California  Edison of starting the Eaton Canyon fire.  They want to sign up as many plaintiffs as possible so that they can maximize the attorney fees they hope to collect if the case settles. In almost every class action or similar group lawsuit I have seen in over 50 years of trial practice,  those lawyers will collect very large sums of money as legal fees, and the class members will get a much smaller remuneration. The larger the number of plaintiffs, the larger the amount of the attorney fees they will collect.

A day or two ago, I was approached by a young man in the parking lot of the IHOP restaurant on Arroyo Parkway in Pasadena trying to sign me up with a law firm for another lawsuit against SCE claiming they were going to get Plaintiffs $5-8,000.00 apiece in damages for the harm caused to our health for the foul air we were breathing as a result of the fires. Again, these lawyers want large numbers of Plaintiff’s – more Plaintiffs = higher legal fees for them.

What If?

Some of these lawyers are making representations to potential plaintiffs that may well not be true. They are leading you to believe that the sooner you sign up the sooner you will be paid.  That almost certainly is not true. Most probably, a year or two from now there will be settlements of this litigation. Then claimants will be paid.

If SCE is at fault – a fact which has yet to be determined – they will be held accountable. I’ve litigated against SCE in the past. They will arm themselves with highly skilled defense attorneys and expert witnesses and contest their liability.  They have unlimited funds to pay defense lawyers and experts.  Nothing will happen quickly.

All of these lawsuits assume SCE is the cause of this fire. But what if SCE is NOT responsible for starting the Eaton Canyon fire?

Like the story of the Tortoise and the Hare, sometimes the fastest isn’t the winner.

Charles T. “Ted” Mathews is a Diplomate of the American Board of Trial Advocates and a former Deputy District Attorney for LA County.