who was the lawyer vs pge

Did PG&E break the law to win its cases?

Ortiz and Sharp claimed that PG&E's hired counsel routinely broke the law to gain inside information in order to win its cases. In the July 2 letter, Girardi told clients that he had confronted PG&E with the damning evidence: "This was certainly grounds for us to threaten separate litigation for invasion of privacy."

How much did PG&E settle the class action lawsuit?

After arbitration for the first 40 people resulted in about $120 million, PG&E reassessed its position and decided to end arbitration and settle the case. It was settled in 1996 for $333 million, the largest settlement of a class action lawsuit in U.S. history.

Where did the case Anderson v PG&E start?

That question echoes from many of the 650 plaintiffs in the case that became Anderson vs. PG&E. The tale started in Hinkley, a town of about 3,500 in the Mojave Desert about 120 miles northeast of Los Angeles.

Do PG&E settlements have to be approved by a judge?

But under California law, a Superior Court judge had to approve the higher fees charged to the minors. According to the PG&E settlement signed by lawyers on both sides, the settlement would not be final until a Superior Court judge approved certain aspects of the case.

Who were the lawyers in the Erin Brockovich case?

Disbarment recommended for Tom Girardi, lawyer whose law firm was portrayed in 'Erin Brockovich' movie. Image from Shutterstock. A California bar court judge has recommended the disbarment of lawyer Tom Girardi, whose estranged wife is Erika Girardi of The Real Housewives of Beverly Hills reality TV show.

Why is PG& e being sued?

A still image from a November 2021 television report shows all 22 PG&E employees who sued for anonymity after being named in the criminal investigation of the 2018 Camp Fire. Many worked in roles that had no decision-making authority over the electrical business that sparked the Camp Fire.

How much did Ed Masry make from PG&E lawsuit?

$333-millionEd Masry, the flamboyant, crusading environmental lawyer portrayed by actor Albert Finney in the movie “Erin Brockovich,” which was based on Masry's landmark $333-million settlement against Pacific Gas & Electric Co. for groundwater contamination in California's high desert, has died. He was 73.

How much did the lawyer make in Erin Brockovich?

Masry & Vititoe, the law firm for which Brockovich was a legal clerk, received $133.6 million of that settlement, and Brockovich received $2.5 million as part of her fee.

Did PG& e cause the Dixie Fire?

Pacific Gas & Electric transmission lines ignited the Dixie Fire in Northern California, which burned nearly 1 million acres and destroyed more than 1,300 homes last summer, according to a new state investigation.

How much will Camp Fire victims get from PG&E?

PG&E's $13.5 billion promise to wildfire victims Victims were told by PG&E the total payout would hit $13.5 billion. The victims won't actually receive stock; instead, Trotter will sell shares over time to raise the cash he needs to make the total add up to $13.5 billion.

What happened to Ed Masry law firm?

Years after the environment contamination case made famous by the 2000 film “ Erin Brockovich ” concluded, after attorney Ed Masry's death, his law firm filed for bankruptcy and transferred its files to Tom Girardi and his law firm, Girardi Keese.

Does Erin Brockovich still work for Ed Masry?

Brockovich, who still works for Masry as his research director, testified in the Van Nuys courtroom of Judge Stanley Weisberg that two key pieces of evidence offered by Cohen's lawyer did not strike her as sexual harassment.

What happened to the lawyer in Erin Brockovich?

Edward L. Masry, a flamboyantly pugnacious lawyer who won millions from a utility in a toxic pollution suit and was portrayed by the actor Albert Finney in the 2000 movie "Erin Brockovich," died on Monday at a hospital in Thousand Oaks, Calif. He was 73.

Did the residents of Hinkley get their money?

Fifteen years after the film showed triumphant residents winning a $333-million settlement with Pacific Gas & Electric Co. for contaminating its water — and nearly 20 years after the settlement itself — Hinkley is emptying out, and those who stay still struggle to find resolution.

How much did each plaintiff get in Erin Brockovich?

Under their agreement with with Ed Masry (who is played in the film by Albert Finney) and two other law firms, the lawyers received 40 per cent of the settlement, or $133m. That should have left $196m for the victims, or roughly $300,000 each.

Are Erin Brockovich and George still together?

Erin and Jorge did break up, but he did not leave her life. He was hired as a full time live-in nanny for Erin's children for several years, paid for by the law firm so that she would have more time to devote to her work.

Who is Reed represented by?

Reed is now represented by Kane, the San Diego lawyer, and his wife, Bonnie. Watts “did not have my best interests at heart at all,” Reed said. Watts said he learned of his connection to Apollo and Centerbridge last year, while PG&E shareholders and bondholders were locked in a battle for control over the company.

Who courted Watts?

Watts told The Chronicle he was “courted” by Apollo and Centerbridge in the time leading up to the settlement that victims’ attorneys reached with PG&E. But when he learned that Apollo and Centerbridge had stakes in his law firm loan, Watts chose to deal only with other firms who were leading negotiations, he said.

Was Watts acquitted of a crime?

Watts represented himself in a 2016 trial and was acquitted. Two individuals who collected names and information were convicted of 66 counts of identity theft, aggravated identity theft, mail fraud and wire fraud.

Is PG&E going bankrupt?

PG&E has to have its bankruptcy plan approved two months before that in order to meet a crucial state deadline. Actual payments to fire victims will be handled by an independent trustee, PG&E noted. When Watts was reviewing the settlement in Santa Rosa in December, he framed the $13.5 billion deal as a good one.

Why were some of the plaintiffs upset with PG&E?

Some of the plaintiffs were upset because they believed PG&E did not respect them. As one of the plaintiffs told the Fox Reporter during the May 24, 1994 news report:

What would happen if PG&E didn't know about Chrome 6?

Put simply, if PG&E didn’t realize that its discharge of chrome 6 would cause harm to the public, it may not have violated public policy. On the other hand, if it knew – or should have known – the result would be different. Since it is the jury’s job to determine facts – and the above issues are fact issues – the jury would decide whether plaintiffs could recover for such injury claims. Not a great prospect for PG&E. Any hope of a “cheap settlement” was eliminated when Walter Lack told the court and defense counsel:

PG&E Lawsuit News & Updates (January 2022)

January 2, 2022 - Dixie Post Fire BAER Assessment Reports Released - Lassen and Plumas National Forests Service completed their post-fire assessments for emergency stabilization measures and actions on National Forest System (NFS) lands burned by the Dixie Fire.

What is the Dixie Fire PG&E Lawsuit About?

On July 13 th, 2021, the Dixie Fire broke out in Feather River Canyon in Butte County. In the following weeks and days, it spread out across several counties, destroying small towns like Greenville, and causing huge economic and social devastation.

PG&E Lawsuit News and Update

As per the LA Times, law firms representing victims of the Dixie Fire began to file suits against PG&E in September 2021, accusing the company of causing the outbreak of the Dixie Fire in July 2021.

PG&E Fire Victims Trust Payouts

PG&E’s bankruptcy in 2020 and subsequent re-emergence were mentioned above. As part of the deal to exit bankruptcy, PG&E promised to pay a $13.5 billion settlement to victims of the Camp Fire, which would be administered through the Fire Victims Trust.

PG&E Lawsuit Lawyers

As you can gather from all of the above, PG&E is in legal trouble for a number of wildfires. While some cases have been resolved, more are ongoing. Right now, PG&E wildfire law firms are calling for victims of the 2021 Dixie Fire in California to join lawsuits against the company.

PG&E Lawsuit Payments

As you might guess by the criticisms of the Fire Victims Trust and the misfiring experiment on using stocks as a settlement, many fire-affected communities are not happy with the means of the Camp Fire lawsuit payout. However, that should be considered something of a moot point for those searching for compensation in the PG&E Dixie Fire lawsuits.

PG&E Lawsuit FAQs

The current PG&E lawsuit is not a class action case. Some of the Dixie Fire lawsuits might become class-action lawsuits or mass tort cases in future. As a huge number of claimants are expected in the Dixie Fire case, it is more than likely that some will be grouped together as a mass tort for expediency and efficiency in the courts.

When was the PG&E pump station built?

In 1952 , PG&E built a pumping station on 20 acres near town as part of its enormous gas-transmission system. The station pumped natural gas through an artery of pipes stretching from the Texas Panhandle to the San Francisco Bay Area; the system served PG&E customers in much of the state's Central Valley.

Did Hinkley v. Pacific Gas go to trial?

The case never went to trial, because Pacific Gas & Electric, the utility accused of polluting Hinkley, and the plaintiffs' lawyers agreed to private arbitration before a panel of for-hire judges, some of whom had socialized with the plaintiffs' attorneys. Advertisement: Advertisement.

Is Brockovich on Oprah?

And while Brockovich appears on "Oprah," some townspeople are preparing for a new round of lawsuits -- this time against their former lawyers, including Brockovich's firm. The following report is based on interviews with scores of residents of Hinkley, and more than two dozen judges and attorneys.

How many acres did PG&E clean up?

According to Sullivan, PG&E cleaned up 54 acres (22 ha); however, it would take another 40 years before they were done. PG&E built a concrete barrier about a half-mile long to contain the plume, pumped ethanol into the ground to convert chromium 6 to chromium 3, and planted acres of alfalfa.

Where is PG&E dumping?

From 1952 to 1966, Pacific Gas and Electric Company (PG&E) dumped about 370 million gallons (1,400 million litres) of chromium -tainted wastewater into unlined wastewater spreading ponds around the town of Hinkley, California, located in the Mojave Desert (about 120 miles north-northeast of Los Angeles ).

How much did the Hinkley case cost?

Two years later, it settled the last of the Hinkley claims for $20 million. That year, the United States Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) responded to research by the National Toxicology Program on the development of cancerous tumors in mice and rats who had consumed heavy doses of chromium 6.

Who is the Senator who called the Senate hearing on Chromium VI?

Two years later, Senator Deborah Ortiz (who represented the Sacramento area and chaired the Senate Health and Human Services Committee) called a Senate hearing about "Possible Interference in the Scientific Review of Chromium VI Toxicity".

Who played Erin Brockovich?

The contamination and lawsuit became the subject of Erin Brockovich, a 2000 biographical film which starred Julia Roberts as Brockovich. The film was a critical success, with Roberts winning a Golden Globe Award for Best Actress in a Motion Picture – Drama and an Academy Award for Best Actress.

Does PG&E have a compressor station?

Groundwater pollution. PG&E operates a compressor station in Hinkley for its natural-gas transmission pipelines. The gas must be re-compressed about every 350 miles (560 km), and the station uses cooling towers to cool the gas after compression.

What was the PFOA limit in 1991?

In 1991, DuPont scientists determined an internal safety limit for PFOA concentration in drinking water: one part per billion. The same year, DuPont found that water in one local district contained PFOA levels at three times that figure. Despite internal debate, it declined to make the information public.

How many acres did Jim and Della sell?

The property would have been even larger had his brother Jim and Jim’s wife, Della, not sold 66 acres in the early ’80s to DuPont. The company wanted to use the plot for a landfill for waste from its factory near Parkersburg, called Washington Works, where Jim was employed as a laborer.

Is Rob Bilott understated?

Bilott is given to understatement. (‘‘To say that Rob Bilott is understated,’’ his colleague Edison Hill says, ‘‘is an understatement.’’) The story that Bilott began to see, cross-legged on his office floor, was astounding in its breadth, specificity and sheer brazenness. ‘‘I was shocked,’’ he said.