A Ventura County judge issued a court order today recommending that Los Angeles County Superior Court be the site for coordinated pretrial proceedings for the 36 currently filed legal actions against Southern California Edison involving the Thomas Fire and the resulting Montecito mudslides.
In the ruling, Judge Vincent O’Neill stated that “Oversight by one judge can streamline discovery and ensure that relevant items are produced as to all pertinent cases with maximum efficiency…while a review of the complaints reflects some variation with respect to the legal theories of potential liability…the common factual allegation across the complaints is that the fires were caused by SCE’s power lines during the high wind events of December 4 and 5, 2017.”
A plaintiff team, led by class action experts Barry Cappello, managing partner of Cappello & Noël LLP, Lexi Hazam and Robert Nelson of Lieff Cabraser Heimann & Bernstein, LLP, along with other prominent plaintiff firms argued that the Los Angeles County Superior Court, which is staffed to handle large, complex cases, was best suited to obtain justice for the victims of the massive fire and resulting mudslides. Defendant Southern California Edison did not oppose the transfer to Los Angeles County.
“There was some disagreement among plaintiff attorneys as to where the proceedings should take place,” says Cappello. “To relieve concerns and to eliminate any inconvenience to the plaintiff victims, plaintiff depositions will be held in their respective counties.”
Of the 36 Thomas Fire/Montecito mudslide legal actions reviewed by the judge, 13 were filed in Ventura County, 12 in Santa Barbara County and 11 in Los Angeles County.
