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Woolsey Fire Complaint

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Woolsey Fire Complaint 1 TABLE OF CONTENTS 2 Page 3 I. INTRODUCTION .............................................................................................................. 4 II. JURISDICTION AND VENUE ......................................................................................... 5 4 III. THE PLAINTIFFS .............................................................................................................. 6 5 A. Lisa Brown .............................................................................................................. 6 6 B. Mirjam Kositchek.................................................................................................... 6 C. Anthony Stearns d/b/a Radfish Malibu ................................................................... 6 7 IV. THE DEFENDANTS .......................................................................................................... 7 8 A. The Edison Defendants ........................................................................................... 7 9 B. Doe Defendants ..................................................................................................... 10 V. FACTUAL ALLEGATIONS............................................................................................ 11 10 A. Edison Caused the Woolsey Fire .......................................................................... 11 11 B. Edison’s Responsibility ......................................................................................... 17 12 1. Edison Had a Non-Transferable, Non-Delegable Duty to Safely Maintain Electrical Infrastructure and the Nearby Vegetation ................. 17 13 2. Foreseeable and Known Weather and Geographic Conditions................. 19 14 3. Edison Knew Its Infrastructure Was Too Old and Improperly Maintained for Safety ................................................................................ 24 15 4. Prior Safety Violations .............................................................................. 27 16 5. Edison’s Repeated Failure to Properly Assess the Risks of its Equipment ................................................................................................. 30 17 FIRST CAUSE OF ACTION Negligence (Brought by All Plaintiffs Against All 18 Defendants) ....................................................................................................................... 33 19 SECOND CAUSE OF ACTION Inverse Condemnation (Brought by All Plaintiffs Against All Defendants) .................................................................................................... 37 20 THIRD CAUSE OF ACTION Public Nuisance (Brought by All Plaintiffs Against All 21 Defendants) ....................................................................................................................... 39 22 FOURTH CAUSE OF ACTION Private Nuisance (Brought by All Plaintiffs Against All Defendants) ....................................................................................................................... 41 23 FIFTH CAUSE OF ACTION Premises Liability (Brought by All Plaintiffs Against All 24 Defendants) ....................................................................................................................... 42 25 SIXTH CAUSE OF ACTION Trespass (Brought by All Plaintiffs Against All Defendants) ....................................................................................................................... 42 26 SEVENTH CAUSE OF ACTION Violations Of Public Utilities Code §2106 (Brought by 27 All Plaintiffs Against All Defendants) .............................................................................. 44 28 EIGHTH CAUSE OF ACTION Violation Of Health & Safety Code § 13007 (Brought by All Plaintiffs Against All Defendants) .............................................................................. 44 - 2 - 1677535.4 COMPLAINT 1 TABLE OF CONTENTS (continued) 2 Page 3 NINTH CAUSE OF ACTION Negligent Interference With Prospective Economic Advantage (Brought by All Plaintiffs Against All Defendants) ....................................... 45 4 VI. PRAYER FOR RELIEF .................................................................................................... 46 5 VII. JURY TRIAL DEMAND ................................................................................................. 47 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 14 15 16 17 18 19 20 21 22 23 24 25 26 27 28 - 3 - 1677535.4 COMPLAINT 1 I. INTRODUCTION 2 1. “Utility-caused fires are not ‘natural’ disasters. Such fires do not start without a 3 source, and when utility equipment is old, poorly inspected or poorly maintained it is more likely 4 to be a source of ignition.” - Diane Conklin, co-founder of the Mussey Grade Road Alliance, a 5 group organized to help prevent utility-caused fires. 6 2. The Woolsey Fire is only the latest in a long run of devastating fires caused by 7 unsafe electrical infrastructure owned, operated, and improperly maintained by Southern 8 California Edison Company and Edison International (hereinafter collectively, “Edison”). 9 10 11 12 13 14 15 16 17 18 19 20 21 22 Photograph by Kyle Grillot / The Washington Post / Getty 23 3. The Woolsey Fire broke out near Simi Valley on November 8, 2018, and, over the 24 next few weeks, it consumed over 96,000 acres in Ventura and Los Angeles Counties. The Fire 25 was not fully contained until November 21, 2018. 26 4. According to an Electrical Safety Incident Report submitted by Edison to the 27 CPUC, on November 8, just two minutes before the Fire began, Edison noted a problem on the 28 - 4 - 1677535.4 COMPLAINT 1 Big Rock 16 kV circuit near its Chatsworth substation.1 Edison crews later discovered a guy wire, 2 a metal wire attached to the ground that supported the pole, in close proximity to a jumper, which 3 connects power lines, on its Big Rock 16 kV circuit.2 Upon information and belief, the guy wire 4 and jumper may have contacted with each other or other Edison electrical equipment, which 5 started the blaze. 6 5. Fueled by low humidity and gusty winds, the fire tore through Malibu as well as 7 parts of the San Fernando Valley neighborhood of West Hills. 8 6. It was one of the largest and most destructive fires in Los Angeles history. 9 7. More than 1,600 structures were damaged and three deaths were reported. 10 8. Approximately 295,000 people were forced to evacuate. 11 9. Edison had a duty to safely operate and maintain its electrical infrastructure 12 properly. Edison violated that duty by knowingly operating aging, overloaded, and/or improperly 13 maintained infrastructure. In fact, Edison’s violations had caused fires before, and Edison had 14 been sanctioned numerous times for this before the Woolsey Fire began. 15 10. All the while, Edison knowingly and habitually underestimated the potential fire 16 risk its systems posed. Had Edison acted responsibly, the Woolsey Fire could have been 17 prevented. 18 II. JURISDICTION AND VENUE 19 11. This Court has subject matter jurisdiction over this matter pursuant to California 20 Code of Civil Procedure § 395(a) because, at all times relevant, Defendants have resided in, been 21 incorporated in, or done significant business in the State of California, so as to render the exercise 22 of jurisdiction over Defendants by California courts consistent with traditional notions of fair play 23 and substantial justice. The amount in controversy exceeds the jurisdictional minimum of this 24 Court. 25 1 26 Electric Safety Incident Reported- Southern California Edison Incident No.: 181108-9003, CPUC (Nov. 8, 2018 8:12 P.M.), https://www.edison.com/content/dam/eix/documents/Woolsey_ 27 Electric_Safety_Report.pdf. 2 Letter from Robert Ramos, Director of Risk and Claims Mgmt., SCE, to Cal. Pub. Utils. Comm. 28 Safety & Enforcement Div. (December 6, 2018). - 5 - 1677535.4 COMPLAINT 1 12. Venue is proper in this County pursuant to California Code of Civil Procedure 2 § 395.5 because, at all times relevant, Defendants have had their principal place of business in the 3 County of Los Angeles. 4 III. THE PLAINTIFFS 5 13. The Plaintiffs are individuals and businesses who suffered property damage and 6 economic losses as a result of the Woolsey Fire. 7 14. Plaintiffs suffered major losses in an amount according to proof at trial. 8 A. Lisa Brown 9 15. Plaintiff Lisa Brown is a resident of Los Angeles County. 10 16. She works as a horse wrangler in movies. 11 17. Her house was destroyed in the Woolsey Fire. She lost all of her possessions, 12 including her collection of valuable art and antiques, memorabilia from the films she has worked 13 on, precious family heirlooms, and horse equipment. 14 B. Mirjam Kositchek 15 18. Plaintiff Mirjam Kositchek is a resident of Los Angeles County. 16 19. Her apartment was also destroyed in the Woolsey Fire. She lost all of her 17 possessions, including designer clothes and shoes critical to her work and valuable art and 18 furniture, as well as original Kay Ameche oil painting. The Fire also damaged her business’ 19 premises, causing her to incur wage loss. 20 C. Anthony Stearns d/b/a Radfish Malibu 21 20. Plaintiff Anthony Stearns runs Radfish Malibu, a surf shop in Malibu where he 22 teaches lessons and rents equipment to individuals interested in surfing. 23 21. Because of the Fire, patrons have stopped coming to his shop, and business has 24 come to a near standstill. 25 26 27 28 - 6 - 1677535.4 COMPLAINT 1 IV. THE DEFENDANTS 2 A. The Edison Defendants 3 22. At all times herein mentioned Southern California Edison and Edison International
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