RELATED: Fire Victim Trust answers questions about $51 million spent as CA wildfire victims await payments. See here for a complete list of exchanges and delays. The victims had minimal input into this process. Well, when the Trusts oversight committee is a group of nine of the victims attorneys, who, as mentioned, promoted the PGE bankruptcy settlement and were eager to get their fees paid, why not turn a blind eye toward the excessive fees and salaries for the Trustee and his managers and consultants. Contacts For Fire Victims and Attorneys, Throwback OCP&R Tip: storms can cause power outages. Nine of the 10 biggest conflagrations in California since 1932 have occurred in the past decade, and PG&E told regulators that its equipment may be linked to the giant, currently raging Dixie Fire, too. I recommend them without reservation., We cannot thank you enough for all your support, education and assistance through our recovery from the 2017 Tubbs Fire. The ability to make this increase is due to several recent developments, said John Trotter - the trustee the PG&E Fire Victim Trust - via a statement. (1,2,5,13), The Sting - The PG&E U.S. Bankruptcy and PG&E Fire Victim Trust, This petition addresses how the unbridled power of the U.S. Bankruptcy system and its Judge (Dennis Montali), Wall Streets Hedge Fund Managers, Pacific Gas & Electric corporation (the largest U.S. public utility) and its lawyers, insurance companies and governments and victims lawyers worked together and/or independently to financially dominate and become the largest beneficiaries of the $55 billion PG&E wildfire bankruptcy payouts. "We don't have enough to rebuild and we're just essentially stuck," Camp Fire Survivor David Breed recently told ABC7 News. Check out Bay Area safety tracker, Bay Area Life; Sundays at 6:30 p.m. on ABC7, Fire Victim Trust answers questions about $51 million spent as CA wildfire victims await payments. After this sale, we now own about 21%. Screen for heightened risk individual and entities globally to help uncover hidden risks in business relationships and human networks. 141 0 obj <>/Filter/FlateDecode/ID[<5282CBEF541C3F44B3C7ABABD9F0131F><7AF137A6936E014296BF315C2A3AFEF3>]/Index[115 39]/Info 114 0 R/Length 117/Prev 236867/Root 116 0 R/Size 154/Type/XRef/W[1 3 1]>>stream 16. Victims, however, have been waiting 4, 5 and 6 years for their compensation which, when it comes to the lucky few, is pennies on the dollar. Https://Www.Pbs.Org/Newshour/Show/Most-Fire-Victims-Are-Still-Waiting-to-Be-Paid-by-Pges-Fire-Victim-Fund-Investigation-Finds Retrieved June 5, 2022, from https://www.pbs.org/newshour/show/most-fire-victims-are-still-waiting-to-be-paid-by-pges-fire-victim-fund-investigation-finds, (9) Trust Distributed $1.69B to PG&E California Fire Victims in 2021. Broadly, the process involves the following steps: With support from the Governors office and the California legislature, PG&E is expected to emerge from bankruptcy under a reorganization plan in secure (or investable) financial condition. (4), And the legions of lawyers and consultants from the Greenberg law firm in North Carolina (who Trustee Trotter hired) are surely making handsome consulting fees, though the Trustee keeps these fees close to his chest wonder why? (12) The victims' owned about 24% of the stock in PGE. Shortly after the October 2017 North Bay Fires, members of the affected communities began filing lawsuits against PG&E based on the companys alleged role in causing the disaster. KQED analyzed federal bankruptcy court filings, court transcripts and correspondence between victims and staff of the Fire Victim Trust. He noted that the bankruptcy court created two pots of money, one for the insurance companies and another for fire victims, including federal and state agency claimants. Officials for the trust declined to provide KQED with a list of companies it is working with and what it has paid them. Quick and fair compensation rang through the courtroom and, at last, us victims felt financial retribution was finally on the way after waiting now 5, 3 and 2 years after our respective fires. We never share your information with third parties. As of a week ago, the trustee had paid $4.05 billion to more than 46,000 victims. Governor Newsom. It is an important development for fire survivors, and I share the. Then I could go deeper based on what I read. To the supervisors' points, it is clear that the excruciatingly slow processing of claims that we victims have suffered through for years demonstrates that the deal that Judge Montali helped craft and approve, and his long-term colleague and fellow octogenarian, Trustee Trotter, is overseeing, and which Gov. A. Retrieved June 5, 2022, from https://www.capradio.org/articles/2021/05/17/a-cascade-of-outrage-follows-investigation-into-pge-fire-victim-trust-expenses/, (5) California Legislative Information. At the closing of the PG&E bankruptcy trial in July 2020, Judge Dennis Montali (the judge and only judge presiding over the PG&E bankruptcy proceeding) proclaimed and I paraphrase and quote him: This PG&E $13.5 billion dollar wildfire victim settlement will allow for victims of the wildfires to be compensated for their losses quickly and fairly. That finally sounded good to the 68,870 families who lost homes and personal property in 2015, 2017, and 2018 Northern California wildfires for which PG&E was accused of and admitted to in court their negligence for our losses and was now officially named responsible for our losses. Any potential claimants who have not yet hired an attorney should be aware that the bankruptcy court will announce a bar date, after which time no further claims may be included in the proceeding or compensated. As part of a settlement, the Fire Victim Trust received half of an expected $13.5 billion payout in stock and the rest in cash. 7305 to amend IRS Code of 1986 for certain fire survivors' claimants. (2022, May 25). The Bank of Japan (BOJ) made no adjustments to its yield-curve control (YCC) policy that keeps interest rates ultra-low on Wednesday. Your attorney will prepare the necessary information about your case and file a proof of claim on your behalf in the PG&E bankruptcy court. We speak to claimants every day and know how hard this has been for everyone. On September 29th, Governor Gavin Newsom signed a bill which will make PG&E wildfire victims' settlement payments state tax-free, but as of right now fire victims must still pay federal taxes on the award money. But it didnt. San Francisco, CA Cathy Yanni, Trustee of the Fire Victim Trust (FVT), announced a pro rata payment increase from 45 percent to 60 percent effective January 31, PG&E filed for bankruptcy voluntarily, and the company is not insolvent. Again, the majority of wildfire victims had been waiting 3 to 6 years (in our case 3 years) and his words fair settlement in a reasonable amount of time washed over us like a long-awaited shower after being stranded in the wildfire jungle for years. PG&E is in the process of paying $13.5 billion to survivors of the deadly Butte, North Bay, and Camp fires; legislation will protect these funds from federal taxes. Less than 1% of all claims have been appealed. That price created a shortfall of approximately $2.4 billion less than expected, and it has lingered between $10 and $12 and closed at $9.78 as of Friday, June 17, 2022.. In a letter to fire victims in April, fund trustee John Trotter said it had retained Richmond, Virginia-based BrownGreer to process claims and that the firm has 300 staff members committed to this project, including attorneys, project managers, analysts, claim reviewers, and software developers.". VIDEO: Will new regulations do enough to keep homeowners from losing fire insurance? Also, the trust gained another $480 million through the sale of 40 million shares of PG&E stock. I hope 2023 will be a good year for fire survivors and am delighted to share that the Fire Victim Trust announced today that it will be increasing pro rata payments from 45 percent to 60 percent effective January 31, 2023. - The Dixie Fire is now the second biggest wildfire since 1932, according to the California Department of Forestry and Fire Protection. CHP Responds To Fatal Rollover Crash On Hwy 128 In Napa County, Napa County Under Coastal Flood Advisory, Flood Watch, Wind Advisory, Most Napa County Government Offices Closed Martin Luther King Jr. Holiday. It is surprising to me that the enormous task managing a $13.5 billion trust would go to an octogenarian in the twilight years of his life, let alone his professional career, addressing the adjudication of settlements for 68,870 victim families and businesses. Gov. As to the victims payouts, to date (May 27, 2022), about 65% of the victims have received pennies on the dollars for their losses with 35% of the victims still waiting for a first pro rata payment, with most victims challenging their settlement determinations as unfair and underpaid as determined by the hundreds of Trust managers and staff, who incidentally are paid much more than fairly on time each and every month. He was born in Chico and attended Butte and Chico State. If you're on the ABC7 News app, click here to watch live, Videos show parade of storms toppling trees across SF Bay Area, The warning signs your tree may fall during next storm, 18 killed in helicopter crash near Kyiv, Ukraine, including children. They were just asking legitimate questions on behalf of their constituents. She added: We will continue to monitor the markets in collaboration with our financial advisors to monetize the remaining shares as quickly as we can, but in a responsible manner, taking into account price, market conditions and the needs of fire survivors.. San Francisco, CA 94104, 2023 | ATTORNEY ADVERTISING MATERIAL | Privacy Policy & Disclaimer | Sitemap. Read The PGE Trust Oversight Committee is comprised of nine attorneys. (2021, October 11). On November 15, 2022, the Trustee posted responses to fire survivors' questions submitted during a recent meeting hosted by Sonoma County Supervisors Susan Gorin and James Gore. Read the responses here. And, to date 35% of the 68,870 of the wildfire victims still wait for what bankruptcy Judge Dennis Montali proclaimed would be quick and fair settlement payments to all victims. In retrospect, perhaps Judge Montali might have selected a Trustee in the prime of his career and less stubborn about getting his way or the highway and less sensitive to constructive public criticism. WebThe PGE 2020 Bankruptcy and PGE Fire Victim Trust PGE's bankruptcy workout plan to pay for victims' losses from the 2015, 2017 and 2018 Northern California wildfires was approved by California Gov. This petition requests that Gov. Trustee appointed 11 fire victims to serve on an official committee of tort claimants. And, Trustee Trotter, 86 when he was appointed by Judge Montali is now 88 draws a salary of $125,000 per month as the Trustee. Newsom approved Montalis bankruptcy plan for PGE. Under the direction of the Trustee, the Honorable John K. Trotter (Ret.) (2022, May 6). Still today, tens of thousands of these wildfire victims have received no settlement payments whatsoever. "We remain right on the exact same spot with the identical house we replaced," said Internicola. While insurers and municipalities took cash during the restructuring process, individual victims accepted a $13.5 billion bundle of cash and stock, to be injected into a trust on their behalf. This creates a multi-step process under which if even one claim is missing information, the Trust must notify the Fire Victim (or their lawyer, if represented) and await supplemental documents before finalizing its review and issuing a Determination Notice. Searchable Archives are available to subscribers, back through the year 2000. Any sale, disposition or other transaction involving the Trusts shares follow strict guidelines as outlined in filings with the U.S. Bankruptcy Court and the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission. An unidentified spokesman for the Fire Victim Trust told KQED the fund has now increased its payments to families, putting $195.2 million into the hands of those who lost loved ones, homes and businesses to fires caused by PG&E. Insurance Journal. Because unlike all the other bankruptcy claimants, the victims received one-half of their $13.5 billion dollar settlement in PGE stock. He said his rent is triple what he paid for his mortgage in Paradise. 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