Lawsuit Filed Against Southern California Edison Alleges Utility Company Responsible for Fairview Fire

LOS ANGELES, Oct. 17, 2022 /PRNewswire/ -- Leading fire litigation firm Singleton Schreiber filed a lawsuit against Southern California Edison alleging the utility company is responsible for the Fairview Fire, which was ignited by its negligently maintained utility infrastructure.

The Lawsuit filed in the Los Angeles Superior Court, claims Southern California Edison is responsible for the catastrophically impacted local community in which two fatalities occurred at the hands of the wildfire as well as destruction and/or damage of the plaintiffs' personal property, mental distress, serious out-of-pocket expenses, medical bills, personal injuries, evacuation expenses and a loss of business income incurred.

The complaint was filed on behalf of several individuals who owned property and/or resided in the impacted areas near Hemet, California. Homes and businesses were burned to the ground, while the lives of those prominently injured and fatally killed were changed forever. The wildfire blazed through 28,300+ acres, severely destroying more than 36 structures, and damaging 8 structures.

"The lives negligently taken, injured, and the destruction of properties as well as livelihoods of many could have been prevented if Southern California Edison had acted responsibly in the management of their utility infrastructure", said Gerald Singleton, Managing Partner of Singleton Schreiber. "Southern California Edison has the expertise to understand when dangerous conditions to be operating its facilities are prominent and should have acted accordingly in preventing the lives of civilians from being taken because of their recklessness."

"In an Electrical Safety Incident Report provided by Southern California Edison on September 5, 2022, they reported activity from their facilities close in time to the start of the fire, further emphasizing their responsibility and fault in the fire", said Andrew Bluth, a partner at Singleton Schreiber.

The financial impact of the wildfire has not yet been reported but will likely be significant due to the scope of acres charred and destroyed

This case is Plaintiffs v. Southern California Edison, County of Los Angeles Superior Court, Case No. 22STCV33558.

About Singleton Schreiber

With more than 120 employees and offices throughout the western United States, Gerald Singleton and his team have represented more than 13,000 victims of utility fires and has recovered over $2 billion in settlements and verdicts for its clients. The firm currently represents thousands of victims of the numerous fires in California, Oregon and New Mexico. For more information, please visit https://singletonschreiber.com/fairview-fire-lawsuit/. 

Joe Marchelewski – [email protected]

SOURCE Singleton Schreiber