Friday, May 29, 2026

Eaton Fire Lawsuits Return to Court, With Pasadena’s Jewish Temple Among The Plaintiffs

The Pasadena Jewish Temple & Center burned during the Eaton Fire on January 8, 2025. [Eddie Rivera/Pasadena Now]

A century-old Pasadena congregation is one of nearly 1,000 plaintiffs pressing claims against Southern California Edison as pre-trial proceedings advance

When the Eaton Fire swept through Altadena on January 7, 2025, members of the Pasadena Jewish Temple and Center raced to save what they could. The sanctuary was already burning. They got out with the Torah scrolls. Everything else — the sanctuary, the preschool, the community buildings that had stood on Altadena Drive for more than eight decades — was gone.

On Friday morning, the congregation joins nearly 1,000 plaintiffs in Los Angeles County Superior Court, where a motions hearing is scheduled before Judge Laura A. Seigle in the consolidated civil litigation against Southern California Edison. The 10 a.m. proceeding in Department 17 of the Spring Street Courthouse advances a mass tort that has grown to encompass Altadena homeowners, businesses, and institutions — all alleging that Edison’s transmission equipment ignited the blaze.

The Pasadena Jewish Temple and Center, founded in 1921 and described as the only Conservative Jewish synagogue in the western San Gabriel Valley, filed its lawsuit against Edison in January 2026. The complaint, filed in Los Angeles County Superior Court and handled by Zimmerman Reed LLP and Murray Law Firm on a pro bono basis, alleges Edison failed to de-energize transmission lines despite Red Flag conditions, left a decommissioned line in place, and failed to disable automatic reclosing equipment on the night the fire erupted. According to the complaint, electrical faults were detected on Edison’s lines in Eaton Canyon shortly after 6:10 p.m., with witnesses reporting arcing and sparks near Edison transmission towers just before the blaze spread through the congregation’s two-acre campus at 1434 North Altadena Drive.

“Our congregation has been without a physical home for more than a year, at a time when our members had the deepest need for refuge and healing,” Senior Rabbi Joshua Ratner said in a statement issued when the lawsuit was filed. “While we’ve continued to gather and support one another, the loss is deeply felt.”

Despite the loss of its campus, the congregation has continued to gather, worship, and serve its community at temporary locations while planning for the future, according to a press release issued at the time of the lawsuit filing. “This complaint lays out a sequence of warnings, precautions, and decisions that existed to reduce wildfire risk — and shows how those safeguards were not followed,” said Caleb Marker, partner at Zimmerman Reed.

The PJTC’s lawsuit is one piece of a litigation that has grown to nearly 1,000 consolidated cases — anchored by the lead case, Gursey v. Southern California Edison (No. 25STCV00731), filed January 13, 2025, by Altadena homeowner Jeremy Gursey, whose property on Lake Avenue was destroyed. The Eaton Fire killed 19 people and burned 14,021 acres over 24 days before it was fully contained January 31, 2025, having destroyed more than 9,400 structures.

Court records available before Friday’s hearing did not specify which motions would be argued. The proceedings are part of pre-trial work advancing the cases toward a first bellwether trial scheduled for January 25, 2027. Judge Seigle has rejected Edison’s attempt to push that trial to August 2027, maintaining the earlier date to allow elderly and medically fragile plaintiffs to have their matters heard. Pre-trial filings are due January 4, 2027.

Attorneys representing plaintiffs say the trial timeline itself creates pressure. “If history is any indication, the trial date will push Edison to come to the table,” said Michael Artinian, one of the attorneys representing fire victims.

Edison has not admitted liability. The company has said the fire’s cause “has not been determined” in filings with state regulators. Edison spokesman David Eisenhauer, responding to the PJTC lawsuit in January, said, “Our hearts remain with the people affected by the Eaton fire. We remain committed to wildfire mitigation through grid hardening, situational awareness and enhanced operational practices.”

Separately, Edison has operated a voluntary Wildfire Recovery Compensation Program since October 2025. As of May 18, 2026, more than 10,000 participants had submitted claims. The program, which runs through November 30, 2026, has extended more than $500 million in offers to nearly 3,800 claimants, according to Edison International press releases. Claimants who accept offers waive the right to pursue litigation.

The City of Pasadena occupies an unusual position in the litigation — it has filed its own lawsuit against Edison for damages to public infrastructure and taxpayer resources, while Edison has named Pasadena Water & Power as a cross-defendant in its January 2026 cross-complaints. Lisa Derderian, the city’s chief communications officer, said in January 2026 that “evidence from the lawsuit has shown Edison’s equipment to be the cause of the catastrophic Eaton Fire” and that “Edison should accept responsibility.”

Friday’s hearing is in Department 17, Spring Street Courthouse, 312 North Spring Street. The court clerk can be reached at 213-310-7017, according to the court notice.

The Torah scrolls the congregation carried out of the flames are in safekeeping. The sanctuary that held them for more than 80 years is not coming back. Whether Edison will be held legally accountable for that loss is a question this court will begin answering in January 2027.