NEW YORK, Aug 11 (Reuters Breakingviews) - An experiment in compensating disaster victims with corporate stock has not gone well. After Getting Burned By Wall Street, California Fire Victims Fight To Reclaim Their Power. "I think scheduling for committee time, floor time," said LaMalfa. However, the 68,870 wildfire victims (approximately 250,000 people) have been short-changed and slow-paid pennies on the dollar and were required to take one half of their settlement in PGE stock. These preliminary payments, which have totaled $79 million to date, will continue to be made on an ongoing basis. Newsom and the California State Legislature enacted Senate Bill AB 1054 which provides full (100%) compensation for future wildfire victims after July 2019, but does not cover the 2015, 2017, and 2018 wildfire victims whose plight spawned the legislation and who are currently being paid about 60% of their bona fide claims losses and Trustee John Trotter is only paying 45% of the 60%. 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. This petition requests that Gov. endstream endobj startxref Reuters provides business, financial, national and international news to professionals via desktop terminals, the world's media organizations, industry events and directly to consumers. Here's a low/no cost preparedness step that's easy on your budget and time #readyoakland #energysavingtip , Insurance bailout fund crippled by lawsuits, claims as Louisiana policyholders wait for relief https://www.nola.com/news/insurance-bailout-fund-crippled-by-lawsuits-claims-as-louisiana-policyholders-wait-for-relief/article_1bd8be08-7d79-11ed-a34d-a3d14a027624.html?utm_medium=social&utm_source=twitter&utm_campaign=user-share via @nolanews, After more than a decade serving as Director of @Cal_OES I am super excited to hand over leadership to an exceptional emergency manager, leader & public safety professional. Legislation could make PG&E settlement money for CA wildfire victims tax-free from the federal government, but the bill is stuck in Congress. "We should not ask survivors to pay federal taxes on compensation that they will use to rebuild their lives. Michael Internicola and his family lost everything in the 2017 Tubbs Fire. Get a confidential review of your case at no cost. Once PG&E filed for bankruptcy, however, the civil lawsuits were automatically stayed (or paused). "We remain right on the exact same spot with the identical house we replaced," said Internicola. And Trustee Trotter, in his not-so-infinite wisdom, has already sold 100 million shares of the victims PGE stock at $12.04 per share for a $212 million loss. The Beginning Pacific Gas & Electric - Wildfires are Us! Trotter also pointed out that the trust was facing tax issues, saying that the state and Federal Capital gains tax rate of more than a 40 percent capital gains tax on any profit above the $9 per stock price. On December California Governor's Office of Emergency Services, Christopher and Urmila - 2017 Tubbs Fire Victims, FEMA can help California communities recover under the Stafford Act, Home insurance availability, affordability AND quality is shrinking: States and the Feds must coordinate and take action to protect homeownership in the US. (14), The PGE Bankruptcy Court settlement, which Governor Newsom approved, favors and fully compensates everyone except the wildfire victims. How safe is your neighborhood? 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. The fund had been criticized by fire victims, who complained about slow processing times and administrative costs taken out of the settlement. (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. I think that is a positive for the trust and the fire victims, Crowder said on Wednesday afternoon. (17). He said their first task was to design a system that allowed 70,000 fire victims to make claims, which he said took time to create and make it capable of receiving and reviewing more than 250,000 unique claims. Since then Trotter said they have received more than 19,000 personal injury claims and more than 400 death claims. The court-ordered trust of over $13 billion was established for survivors of devastating Northern California wildfires including the 2015 Butte Fire, the 2017 North Bay Fires and the 2018 Camp Fire. The family knew they wanted to rebuild. At the time of that delivery, the stock was trading at approximately $9 per share, he wrote. 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. Under the direction of Cathy Yanni (Trustee), the Fire Victim Trust is ever-focused on resolving Fire Victims claims to help them recover and move on successfully with their lives. and Cathy Yanni appointed Trustee and Claims Administrator of the Fire Victim Trust (FVT), Bankruptcy Court confirmed PG&Es Chapter 11 Plan of Reorganization, FVT established and funded with $5.4 billion cash and PG&E stock, FVT began accepting claims information on FVT Portal, FVT began issuing Preliminary Payments to Fire Victims, Original Claims Questionnaire filing deadline (later extended to 2/26/21), $758 million cash payment received from PG&E, Claims Questionnaire filing deadline (extended from 12/31/20), FVT began issuing Pro Rata Payments to Fire Victims, $592 million cash payment received from PG&E, Cathy Yanni becomes Trustee of the Fire Victim Trust. "This trust was set up to help people get back on their feet and recover after a destructive fire. He will be replaced by Cathy Yanni, who has been with the trust since it was created two years ago as the claims administrator. 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. (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? (12,19). If you suffered losses in the following or related fires, you may be entitled recover legal damages from PG&E: We invite North Bay and Butte County fire survivors to contact our office at any time to review your case and understand your legal options. (2021a, May 17). Many more fire victims are struggling to do the same. Distributing a portion of the bankruptcy settlement funds before claims could be fully evaluated was an unprecedented move, but a necessary one given the extreme hardship facing many individuals whose losses from the wildfires have been compounded by the Covid-19 pandemic and by the 2020 wildfires in Northern California. With $2.82 billion in additional liquidity from our recent stock sales, we were confident we could safely increase the pro rata payment percentage for all Fire Victims, said Cathy Yanni. Read the responses, , the Trust sent letters in support of H.R. We speak to claimants every day and know how hard this has been for everyone. {-k3}- &l=g`ns u' Our one and only goal is to give everyone whose lives have been disrupted and devastated by the wildfires the financial resources they need to rebuild their lives as soon as possible.. (15). As of March 15, PG&E had paid out $3.04 billion in preliminary and pro-rata payments and awarded another $7.04 billion in determination notices. He approved the deal crafted largely favoring the interests of PG&E, Wall Street Hedge Fund investors that owned approximately 10% of PG&Es stock, and a small group of victims law firms that represented large groups of wildfire victims. He said in his letter that the trust still owns 377 million shares of the utilitys stock. Also, the trust gained another $480 million through the sale of 40 million shares of PG&E stock. A 15% increase was tacked on to the 30% pro-rata payments most claimants have already seen, meaning fire victims should have received 45% of their full approved claim. Meanwhile, the Trust disbursed just $7 million. All Rights Reserved. Most importantly, the bankruptcy does not prevent individuals and families impacted by the North Bay and Camp fires from asserting their right to compensation against PG&E. March 12, 2021, San Francisco On Monday, March 15, the Fire Victim Trust (FVT) will begin distributing the first round of pro rata payments toward satisfying the claims of No-fee policy. In a bankruptcy settlement, claimants may not ultimately receive the full value of their claims, but they must all receive the same proportionate pro rata value. Landslide Debris Cancels ACE Train Service Through Niles Canyon, Water Agencies Seek Solution to Unhoused Residents Living in Creek Beds, Man Accused in Wife's Murder Made Shocking Google Searches in Days After Her Disappearance, Michigan Family Gets Life in Prison for Killing Family Dollar Guard Over Face Mask Dispute, SF Residents Give City Officials Earful About Increase in Crime, Decrease in Quality of Life, Rain Wednesday Will Add to Historic Wet Period in Bay Area. Copyright 2023 KGO-TV. Our work to process claims continues, and todays news is a sign of significant progress. PARADISE, Calif. - There is a new But all is fine with PGE now and their business and profits are growing again (though their stock is still trading at about $12 per share still under water for the victims stock). But KQEDs review of documents identified more than half a dozen law firms and financial institutions that have profited from the Fire Victim Trust. These individual victims should not be left to fend for themselves in a creditor class outnumbered by sophisticated and deep-pocketed financial institutions and insurance companies.. Today, the Fire Victim Trust holds almost a quarter of PG&E shares. Primarily, those debts and liabilities relate to wildfire claims. On November 14, 2022, the Trust sent letters in support of H.R. 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. Because the Trust is a limited fund and bankruptcy laws, court order, and the Trust Documents require that eligible Fire Victims each receive an equal proportion of their awards, Fire Victims receive payments in pro rata installments commensurate with the total cash funding currently available to the Trust. By our calculations, our attorneys for our PG&E Fire Victim Trust settlement were fairly compensated for the time they spent on our claims processing with the Trust. One of the hallmarks of trust administration is transparency. Read the letters. and the Claims Administrator Cathy Yanni, the Fire Victim Trust provides an efficient and equitable process to compensate Fire Victims for both economic and non-economic damages caused by these fires, including destruction or damage to real estate and personal property, additional living expenses, lost wages, business losses, emotional distress, personal injury and death. He pointed out that more than 85% of the victims voted for the plan, and on July 1, 2020, when the utility emerged from bankruptcy, paid $6.75 billion in cash and delivered 478 million shares of PG&E stock to the trust. Gov. And these payments have been neither quickly nor fairly paid to victims contrary to Judge Montalis promise to victims. The victims approval of the bankruptcy deal ($13.5 half in cash and half in PG&E stock) which by itself was unprecedented, that is, that victims would have to take a stock from its defendant for half of their settlement. In addition to ensuring survivors would not be taxed on trust payments, the new law includes a provision exempting attorneys' fees from taxation to ensure that recipients of PG&E funds do not pay taxes on lawyers they did not hire. Trotter said that once the trust was created, the only employees working for it were he and Yanni, who was his claims administrator. They should not have to pay taxes on these payouts. A vote for Yes or No was essentially all the victims received no substantial input. PG&E wildfire victims will soon be able to get a larger share of what is owed to them, thanks to a recent influx of $1 billion into the victim compensation trust fund, according to trust officials. So, out of the gate our settlement went from $13.5 billion to $12 billion, and today the stock is about $1.1 billion underwater and victims have experienced a $212 million dollar loss in their Trust funds because Trustee Trotter chose to sell 100 million of victims' shares at $12.04 per share. What lawyers earn that kind of money perhaps a handful of patent attorneys? And one-half (i.e., $6.75 billion) of the victims settlement languishes in PGEs underperforming stock.(1,2,3,4,5,6,13). In the aftermath of each fire, thousands of people sought refuge in their vehicles, emergency tent communities or FEMA camps. And Gov. 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. Never pay out-of-pocket fees or expenses. Trustee appointed 11 fire victims to serve on an official committee of tort claimants. Republican Assembly Leader James Gallagher (R-Yuba City) said there had been many challenges with the trusts administration. 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. Paradise mayor Steve Crowder welcomed the news of Trotters retirement. 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 Officials for the trust declined to provide KQED with a list of companies it is working with and what it has paid them. (1,2) Instead, the facts show that payments to victims have been pro rata at 45% of victims' losses, and again, this is 45% of a 60% average settlement offer (and 33%-plus of this goes to the victims attorneys fees and costs). That voicemail was widely criticized by local politicians and inspired another letter from the board. 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