Grading SoCal Edison’s legal arguments against the county over wildfires
Following last year’s deadly Eaton Fire in Los Angeles, the legal blame game continues to play out in court. The power company that likely started one of the fires has now filed a lawsuit against the county.
Southern California Edison filed suit on Jan. 16 against LA County, some local water agencies and Southern California Gas Company.
Lawsuit filed
The utility’s lawsuit comes on the heels of LA County filing suit against SoCal Edison last year for allegedly causing the Eaton Fire.
“SoCal Edison is basically trying to deflect their blame,” Myanna Dellinger, an attorney who specializes in natural resource law, told Straight Arrow News. “They were said to have started the fire, and they’re saying that’s true, but these other parties and other things were also at issue. So, if we’re found liable and we’re going to fork out a whole bunch of money, then other defendants or other parties should also share in that blame and that monetary responsibility.”
In the lawsuit, SoCal Edison accuses the county of failing to issue timely evacuation notices to people living in Altadena after the Eaton Fire began. Of the 19 people who died in that fire, 18 lived in Altadena.
“One of the good points is that there was a private security company that didn’t warn people in Altadena for about nine hours,” Dellinger said. “So, the sheriffs and police and whatever local different agencies had to go out and manually knock on doors and with bullhorns to warn people to get out. I think that’s a good argument.”
SoCal Edison also said water agencies did not provide enough water as the fire spread, causing more issues for firefighters trying to put out the flames.
“A little bit more of a feeble argument is that there was not enough water pressure, and that’s LA County’s fault for not having enough water pressure to douse the fires,” Dellinger said. “That I think is a little more on shaky ground, because the fires were just enormous, right?”
SoCal Edison has also accused SoCal Gas of delaying widespread gas shutoffs, which helped fuel the fire for days.
“In the Palisades Fire, that gas company out there shut off the gas valves after less than one day,” Dellinger said. “Why, then, in the Altadena area, did it take SoCal Gas four days to shut down the gas? And I think those are legally good arguments.”
Lawsuit response
LA County has not publicly commented on the suit. SoCal Gas is reportedly reviewing the complaint.
“SoCalGas continues to support our customers and communities still recovering from last year’s devastating fires,” they said in a statement to KABC. “Since January 7, 2025, SoCalGas has worked diligently, in close coordination with local and state officials, to assess the impacts of the fires on SoCalGas’ infrastructure, make necessary repairs, and safely restore service to thousands of customers. We will carefully review the complaint and will respond through the judicial process.”
Officials in Pasadena have rejected the utility’s claims and blame their faulty equipment for starting the fire in the first place.
Suits against SoCal Edison
“It’s what we call a counterclaim, or a countersuit,” Dellinger said. “They were first sued by LA County for their alleged fault in causing the fires to begin with.”
SoCal Edison is facing nearly 1,000 lawsuits due to their role in the fire. That includes a suit from LA County and the U.S. Dept. of Justice.
The company has acknowledged the evidence that appears to show one of its idled power lines started the fire.
“The Eaton Fire started because of their faulty equipment, them being Southern California Edison, and so, of course, they’re a company, and they’re supposed to, under their laws, defend themselves the best they can and protect their money and their shareholders interest,” Dellinger said.
Dellinger said moving forward, the parties involved in the lawsuits are likely to settle instead of letting things play out in a courtroom.
“I think it’ll settle, and that could be a matter of months, instead of a year or more for trial,” she said.
The post Grading SoCal Edison’s legal arguments against the county over wildfires appeared first on Straight Arrow News.
Ella Rae Greene, Editor In Chief
