Settlement with Edison for 2007 Malibu Fires Totaling $37 Million
Malibu Fires (Photo credit: Wikipedia)
In 2007, Malibu was among the Southern California cities that experienced the destructive wildfire; and now the city is receiving some compensation from a negligent party. Southern California Edison has agreed to pay $37 million to the state and city to repair the damages that its mistake caused.
According to the settlement agreement, Edison admits blame because it did not take “prompt action to prevent telecommunications company NextG from attaching fiber optic cable to joint poles in Malibu Canyon” after learning the dangers of doing nothing. This caused the poles to exceed state-mandated safety limits for weight.
The overweight pole was one of the three that failed by snapping and starting the fire. The fire then spread across the canyon, burning over 3,800 acres in October.
The case originally asked for $49 million, but the plaintiffs are happy with the outcome still. The settlement equaled 75 percent of the asking amount and will be sufficient in use of reparations. Edison will pay $20 million to the State of California’s General Fund and $17 million will fund pole loading assessments and resulting remediation work in Malibu.
This is great news for Los Angeles County and the state of California. The wild fires destroyed a lot of land and structures in 2007, and this money will aid greatly in the restoration of the area.
Losing property from a fire can be terribly traumatic and then very confusing. It is difficult to know what to do next and how to file paperwork correctly to ensure that everything is recovered. For property damage, accidents, injuries, etc. having an attorney is incredibly helpful. Contact an accident lawyer today to get the support that you need for your case.
