[December 08, 2017]

California Fire Lawyers Announce 295 New Plaintiffs File Suit Against PG&E for its Role in the Northern California Fires

Today, nationally recognized attorneys from Baron & Budd; Singleton Law Firm; Dixon Diab & Chambers LLP; Thorsnes Bartolotta McGuire LLP; and Terry Singleton, Esq., collectively known as the California Fire Lawyers, announced that the team has filed suit against PG&E (News - Alert) Corporation and Pacific Gas And Electric Company, California Corporations (collectively known as "PG&E") on behalf of 295 additional plaintiffs who sustained injuries or other damages as a result of the Northern California Fires, which began on Oct. 8, 2017. The firm now represents more than 350 plaintiffs from Tubbs, Sonoma, Napa, Mendocino, and Butte Counties, which were devastated by the severe and historic blaze.

In the suit, the firms allege that the Northern California Fires began when electrical infrastructure owned, operated, and maintained by PG&E came into contact with vegetation inspected and maintained by PG&E. As a result of this alleged negligence, the fires claimed more than 40 lives, burned more than 210,000 acres and destroyed over 8,400 structures. In total, the fires could ultimately cause between $10 and $12 billion in damages.

The suit goes on to state that damages suffered by the plaintiffs include, but are not limited to: wrongful death, personal injuries, damage to or destruction of property, loss of cherished possessions, medical bills, evacuation expenses, and lost wages.

On Oct. 27, 2017, the firms filed a similar suit on behalf of more than 50 plaintiffs who sustained damages in the fires.

"The Northern California Fires have significantly impacted and burdened the lives of thousands of residents. There is compelling evidence pointing to PG&E's negligence - including failing to inspect and maintain PG&E-owned infrastructure and failing to properly clear vegetation away from power lines and electrical infrastructure," said Scott Summy, Baron & Budd Shareholder and leader of the firm's Environmental Litigation Group. "The California Fire Lawyers is a team that has already taken PG&E to court for wildfire cases and we are here to make sure that this corporation is held accountable on behalf of the thousands of residents in Northern California who are impacted and forever changed by this disaster."

California Fire Lawyers have hired investigators, experts and adjusters to expedite the recovery process for victims. The firms have multiple decades of experience fighting and winning on behalf of their clients.

"It is an honor and a privilege to know that hundreds of families have entrusted our team to help them seek justice and rebuild their lives," said Ed Diab of Dixon Diab & Chambers LLP.

The California Lawyers currently operate two offices i Northern California. The Sonoma County office is located at 418 B. Street, First floor, Santa Rosa, CA (News - Alert) 95401. The office in Mendocino County is located at 305 N. Main Street, Ukiah, CA 95482. To inquire by phone, call 707-533-8128. Other information can be found online at www.CaliforniaFireLawyers.com.

ABOUT BARON & BUDD, P.C.

Baron & Budd, P.C., is one of the largest and most accomplished plaintiffs' law firms in the country. Lead attorneys Russell Budd, Scott Summy and Roland Tellis were selected to the 2017 edition of The Best Lawyers in America. Mr. Budd has been selected to Best Lawyers every year since 2014 and Mr. Summy has been selected to Best Lawyers every year since 2006. Baron & Budd lawyers have served in leadership positions on the majority of the major, mass tort litigations in the past two decades. Mr. Summy was one of four attorneys to serve on the Plaintiffs' Executive Committee in the 2010 BP Oil Spill case, and he was instrumental in negotiating the more than $15 billion settlement obtained on behalf of the individual plaintiffs. In 2014 Baron & Budd was named to the list of America's Elite Trial Lawyers by The National Law Journal. This illustrious list is comprised of 50 law firms that have achieved significant results on behalf of plaintiffs within the previous year and have an established track record of delivering impressive results. Baron & Budd has been repeatedly selected by The Legal 500 as one of the country's premier law firms in mass tort claims and class action litigation. In its 40 year history, Baron & Budd has handled over 10,000 wrongful death cases and has pioneered numerous areas of litigation.

ABOUT SINGLETON LAW FIRM, APC (News - Alert)

Singleton Law Firm, based in San Diego, is one of the top fire litigation firms in the state of California. Over the past decade, SLF has represented thousands of individuals in major fires all over the state of California, and has recovered over $650 million for its clients in fire cases. Lead attorney Gerald Singleton has served as Liaison Counsel and on the Executive Committees in some of the largest fires in the state. Mr. Singleton and Erika Vasquez, head of the firm's fire litigation division, currently represent over 2,000 individuals in the 2015 Butte Fire, which was a catastrophic fire started by PG&E power lines that burned over 70,000 acres in Calaveras and Amador counties. The firm recently represented the largest individual group of plaintiffs in the 2013 Powerhouse Fire in Los Angeles County, and Mr. Singleton served as Liaison Counsel for that case. Prior to the Powerhouse Fire, Singleton Law Firm was one of four firms who teamed up in a joint venture to represent over 1,600 individuals in the 2007 San Diego Fires.

ABOUT DIXON DIAB & CHAMBERS LLP

The lawyers at Dixon Diab & Chambers LLP have gained national recognition as being some of the top litigators in their respective areas of practice. Ed Diab leads the firm's fire litigation practice and has litigated numerous wildfire cases throughout the country. He was actively involved in the widely publicized lawsuit against Pacific Gas & Electric arising out of the 2010 San Bruno Gas Pipeline Explosion that leveled 38 homes and killed 8. He also currently represents numerous people in lawsuits against Pacific Gas & Electric that sustained significant property damages arising out of the 2015 Butte Fire in Amador/Calaveras County that burned over 70,000 acres. Both Deborah Dixon and Robert Chambers have significant experience litigating complex, multi-party lawsuits against entities and insurance companies on behalf of individuals and businesses. Their experience in personal injury, business litigation, products liability and class actions provide integral background for fire cases, as does their direct experience handling claims on behalf of victims who suffered personal injury and property damages because of fires. The firm also has substantial experience representing families in wrongful death cases, having handled more than 150 such claims and recovering millions of dollars on the families' behalf.

ABOUT THORSNES BARTOLOTTA MCGUIRE

Thorsnes Bartolotta McGuire is a high-end, civil litigation firm that specializes in serious personal injury and wrongful death, condemnation, inverse condemnation, and construction defect litigation. Since its founding in 1978, the firm has recovered over $1 billion on behalf of its clients. TBM annually earns numerous commendations, among them designations by American Lawyer Magazine as one of the top 20 firms in the Nation. The firm was recognized as Best Lawyers® "Best Law Firms" by U.S. News & World Report and received the prestigious Tier One ranking for San Diego in the categories of Mass Torts Litigation and Personal Injury Litigation. The firm has received numerous "Outstanding Trial Lawyer," "Trial Lawyer of the Year," and "Best Lawyers in America", and just received the prestigious "Best Law Firms" by U.S. News & World Report for 2018.

ABOUT TERRY SINGLETON, ESQ.

Terry Singleton is a San Diego-based attorney with more than 40 years of experience in civil litigation. Mr. Singleton has successfully tried dozens of cases to verdict and has obtained over 50 verdicts or settlements in excess of $1 million dollars in personal injury, utility fire/negligence and/or wrongful death cases. This includes obtaining one of the largest verdicts ever awarded in a wrongful death case in Imperial County. Mr. Singleton has more than 20 years of experience managing utility-caused wildfire litigation, beginning with the 1993 Guejito Fire in Escondido, California. He served as one of two lead trial attorneys for the largest group of plaintiffs in the 2007 San Diego Wildfires, which included the City and County of San Diego, and recently was one of the trial lawyers who successfully conducted a jury trial resulting from the 2011 Las Conchas fire in New Mexico, where he represented individuals and the Native American Pueblos of Cochiti and Jemez against an electrical distribution and a transmission/generation cooperative. Mr. Singleton, a US Army volunteer and Vietnam veteran, is also an active member of the community. In recent years, his pro bono work has included working to free a young man from prison who was wrongfully convicted of murder in 2000. He has also routinely been recognized as a top personal injury lawyer by San Diego "Super Lawyers."

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