Friday, July 25, 2025

Edison’s Eaton Fire Payout Plan Draws Sharp Criticism From Local Lawyers

By ANDRÈ COLEMAN, Managing Editor

One day after Southern California Edison announced a Wildfire Recovery Compensation Program, local attorneys took the program to task and intimated the program could further victimize people who lost their homes in the deadly Eaton Fire.

“Their supposed fund is woefully lacking in detail … designed to vastly underpay the victims,” attorney Richard Bridgford of Bridgford, Gleason & Artinian said in an interview with CBS Los Angeles.

Bridgford noted that similar direct-payment programs from other utilities have offered only a small percentage of actual rebuilding costs.

“In our experience … providing $0.40 on the dollar or less of the true cost to rebuild,” Bridgford said.

Bridgford said timing of SCE’s offer will likely sow confusion before official cause determinations, telling the Los Angeles Times it could “make people panic so they don’t get adequate representation.”

A separate voice in the legal community, Pasadena attorney Doug Boxer, also cast doubt on the program’s promised efficiency.

“Experience suggests that these direct payments for victims are neither quick, nor easy, nor equitable,” Boxer said. “PG&E offered a similar program and wildfire victims ended up receiving inadequate compensation, and it didn’t happen fast.”

Fellow attorney Mikal Watts at LA Fire Justice, a fire origin expert and trial lawyer known for securing groundbreaking settlements, said Edison appears to be accepting responsibility for the fire.

“After six months of denying responsibility, we are pleased for our clients that Edison has finally reversed course and now acknowledges what we have already proven — they started the fire and need to pay for the damage it caused,” Watts said.

Kiley Grombacher, co-founder of the California Fire Victims Law Center, issued a statement Thursday criticizing the utility’s plan.

“While details have yet to be made public, Edison’s Wildfire Recovery Compensation Program appears designed to minimize payouts to Eaton fire victims while protecting the utility from full accountability,” Grombacher said. “Without admitting fault for providing transparency, Edison is asking victims to potentially waive their rights for what history shows will likely be pennies on the dollar. Fire victims deserve full and fair compensation, not a quick deal that leaves them shortchanged. We urge all affected residents to seek proper legal advice before engaging with any utility?run program that could compromise their family’s future recovery.”

More than 9,000 structures were destroyed by the deadly blaze that killed 19 people.

Many local residents living in Altadena have filed lawsuits against Southern California Edison.

Attorneys who filed the lawsuit against the utility claim the utility’s dormant electrical tower sparked the deadly Eaton Fire.

Video from a gas station security camera shows electrical sparking at a utility transmission tower in Eaton Canyon near Altadena. Shortly after the sparks the fire began.

“There is clear evidence from video footage, photographs, and witness accounts that electrical equipment operated by Defendants Edison International and Southern California Edison,” the complaint states, caused the fire.

The California Fire Victims Law Center represents plaintiffs who lost homes in the Eaton Fire and filed a class?action lawsuit seeking compensation for property remediation and long?term medical monitoring for families exposed to toxic contamination.

Edison announced Wednesday it will launch the program this fall. The fund will provide direct payments and expedited claims to individuals and businesses affected by the fire, including homeowners, renters and those with or without insurance. The program will cover a broad range of damages, such as structure loss, commercial property damage, business interruption, smoke and ash impacts, injuries and fatalities.

Participation will be voluntary and will involve no application, administrative or legal fees. Victims may apply with or without an attorney, according to Edison.

Pedro J. Pizarro, president and CEO of Edison International, the utility’s parent company, said the initiative is meant to provide relief while investigators continue reviewing the cause of the blaze.

“Even though the details of how the Eaton Fire started are still being evaluated, SCE will offer an expedited process to pay and resolve claims fairly and promptly,” Pizarro said.

The utility has hired compensation experts Kenneth R. Feinberg and Camille S. Biros — known for their work on the September 11th Victim Compensation Fund — to help design the program. They will advise on its framework but will not administer claims.

The average payout from the September 11th Victim Compensation Fund (VCF), which was started after terrorist attacks in New York City and Washington DC, varies significantly based on the type of claim (death or injury) and individual circumstances.

In the early years, death claims averaged around $2,082,128, with some reaching $7.1 million. Personal injury claims ranged from $500 to $8.6 million. More recently, the VCF has awarded close to $1.94 billion, approving 6,911 claimants and processing 10,641 payments in 2024 alone. The total amount paid out by the VCF has exceeded $14.9 billion.

Additional details on eligibility and documentation requirements are expected later this summer. Edison said the program will operate through 2026 and will incorporate feedback from attorneys, elected officials and community members.