PG&E rallies support for home stretch of bankruptcy case
Lawyers for some of the Californians who lost their homes in wildfires said they agreed with a San Francisco bankruptcy court’s refusal to delay approval of a $13.5 billion settlement with Pacific Gas & Electric Company (PG&E).
U.S. Bankruptcy Judge Dennis Montali said this week that he would not support a delay that had been requested by a committee representing some of the fire victims, who had wanted to change some of the terms of the deal.
Montani said he would not block the committee from stating their case to the claimants, and he also refused to reschedule a May 27 hearing to approve the settlement and move forward with PG&E’s plan to emerge from Chapter 11 bankruptcy before a June 30 deadline.
“The settlement we reached with PG&E remains the best option for getting victims paid as soon as possible,” said Joseph Earley, who represents more than 11,000 fire victims, including himself. “Withholding support for the plan of reorganization would only delay payments even further, and I urge victims to support the settlement and the plan.”
More than 70,000 claims against PG&E have been filed in connection with a series of wildfires in 2015, 2017, and 2018 that were attributed to problems with PG&E’s equipment. The catastrophic fires damaged or destroyed scores of homes and caused more than 100 deaths.
The resulting liabilities forced the utility into Chapter 11 last year. A key element for PG&E’s eventual emergence is access to California’s new $21 billion state wildfire insurance fund. The state has said PG&E must be out of bankruptcy by the end of June in order to take part in the fund. Once approved by Montali, the plan must also receive approval from the California Public Utilities Commission.
“PG&E’s restructuring plan has cleared many hurdles, most recently from the governor’s office,” PG&E said in a written statement. “Derailing the process now will not serve victims who have been waiting for compensation to help them rebuild their lives.”
While the victims’ committee told Montali that PG&E had allegedly changed some of the terms of the deal, the attorneys representing other groups of victims urged the judge to move forward so that their clients could finally be paid for their losses. “The plan has the support of the governor and a host of other stakeholders. Victims’ support is critical to getting court approval of the plan, releasing the payments these deserving Californians have been waiting for,” said attorney Noreen Evans.
