Eliot Arts School (Photo – Colorado Boulevard)
Pasadena Unified School District files lawsuit against Southern California Edison for Eaton Fire damages.
By News Desk
The Pasadena Unified School District filed a lawsuit against Southern California Edison seeking compensation for extensive damages to educational facilities and disruption of operations caused by the devastating Eaton Fire that began on January 7, 2025.
The Eaton Fire, which spread rapidly through wind-driven conditions, destroyed five schools and damaged numerous others throughout the district, significantly impacting educational services for thousands of students. The fire burned more than 14,000 acres, damaged or destroyed over 10,000 structures, and claimed 17 lives across the region.
“The destruction of multiple schools and educational facilities has created an immense burden on students, families, and the entire educational community,” said John Fiske, a shareholder at Baron & Budd P.C., outside counsel representing the District. “This lawsuit seeks fair compensation to recover the taxpayer resources and district property lost as a result of this devastating fire.”
The filing details extensive damage to several key educational facilities including:
- Franklin Elementary School
- Eliot Arts Magnet Middle School
- The Edison campus housing Odyssey Charter School
- The Loma Alta campus housing Pasadena Rosebud Academy and Oak Knoll Montessori School
- The Noyes campus housing Aveson School of Leaders
Documentation submitted with the legal filing includes photographic evidence of the fire’s origin point and references to SCE’s own regulatory filings that acknowledge electrical system anomalies coinciding with the fire’s ignition time and location. The District’s complaint notes that Edison filed reports with the California Public Utilities Commission acknowledging that a “fault was detected” on its transmission circuit at approximately the same time and location the fire began.
The lawsuit outlines how weather forecasts in the days preceding the fire had repeatedly warned of extreme fire danger, with the National Weather Service issuing progressively stronger advisories culminating in a Red Flag Warning on the morning of January 7th when winds reached extreme levels.
“The District remains committed to providing exceptional education to its students and the community it serves,” said Ed Diab, a founding partner of Diab Chambers LLP, who is also representing the District in this matter. “The lawsuit seeks to address the devastating impacts this fire has had on the District’s educational infrastructure and the significant losses sustained in the wake of the Eaton Fire.”
The complaint includes claims for inverse condemnation, negligence, trespass, nuisance, premises liability, and violations of Public Utilities and Health & Safety Codes. It addresses both direct fire damage and the subsequent costs of managing post-fire environmental hazards, emergency response, and infrastructure restoration.
Los Angeles County, the City of Pasadena, and the City of Sierra Madre – represented by Baron & Budd and Diab Chambers LLP – have also filed similar suits against Southern California Edison, seeking to recover costs for damages sustained in their respective jurisdictions.
The Pasadena Unified School District is represented by outside counsel John Fiske, Torri Sherlin, and Taylor O’Neal of Baron & Budd P.C., and Ed Diab, Rob Chambers, and Kristen Barton of Diab Chambers LLP, the same legal team supporting Los Angeles County, the City of Pasadena, and the City of Sierra Madre in the related litigation.
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