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Judge denies class action
lawsuits in recent wildfires
By Neal Putnam
The Alpine Sun
SAN DIEGO — A judge has rejected class
action status for the 70 lawsuits so far filed against San Diego
Gas & Electric in which the utility is blamed for causing the
wildfires in October 2007. The judge’s ruling will probably be
appealed to a higher court, attorneys said.
San Diego Superior Court Judge Richard Strauss denied
the class action request before 83 attorneys, law clerks, and
paralegals that attended the hearing in a crowded courtroom on
June 25. The lawyers represent approximately 1,000 people who
were claiming losses from destroyed homes to those who evacuated
and had to spend nights in hotels all over the county.
In a written ruling, Strauss stated he denied the
motion “on the grounds there is insufficient commonality among
class members and a class action is an inferior method with
which to proceed.” He wrote, “a class action is not manageable.”
Strauss said there have been more than 20,000 claims to
insurance companies as a result of the wildfires, and that shows
“plaintiffs who have taken a significant and active role in
seeking compensation.”
“It is difficult to assume any single damage
calculation would apply uniformly,” the judge wrote.
“By not limiting the damages to living expenses, the
scope of damages defeats commonality by including extra cell
phone minutes, diapers, extra meals, meals bought for others,
air filters for cars, car rentals, car washes, and dog food,”
the judge wrote.
“When the determination of each class members’ damage
is increasingly diverse, it defies common questions of laws and
fact,” wrote the judge.
The judge also said each plaintiff has a different type
of loss and degree of damages, as some people are seeking
damages for expenses incurred as a result of the massive
evacuation, but had little or no damages to their homes.
“Not every evacuation order was associated with a
single specific fire. For example, Oct. 21, 2007, at 2210, there
is a mandatory evacuation of Ramona, but does not identify the
fire with which the evacuation is associated,” wrote the judge.
The lawsuits allege losses caused by the Witch Creek,
Guejito and Rice Canyon fires.
The suits allege that SDG&E power lines struck
vegetation during severe Santa Ana winds. There were more than
1,300 homes burned in the Back Country, El Cajon, Ramona, Rancho
Bernardo, Scripps Ranch, Fallbrook, and other areas, as well as
some deaths.
The written ruling says the lawyers were also using a
statistical analysis of a telephone survey to determine class
action status and damages.
“The moving parties have offered no suggestions as to
how to manage and require participation from thousands of
inactive class members. Thus, plaintiffs have failed to show
(that) a class action is superior to the current case
management,” concluded Strauss.
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