See here for a complete list of exchanges and delays. Fix the Biggest Victim Economy created and approved by you and Judge Montali. PGE's bankruptcy workout plan to pay for victims' losses from the 2015, 2017 and 2018 Northern California wildfires was approved by California Gov. An unidentified spokesman for the Fire Victim Trust told KQED the fund has now increased its payments to families, putting $195.2 million into the hands of those who lost loved ones, homes and businesses to fires caused by PG&E. Capradio. opt-out claim, and issuance 90% of all Determination Notices. Were making every effort to keep Fire Victims and their attorneys apprised of our progress each step of the way. Turns out were still getting soaked while the lawyers, insurance companies, cities and counties, Hedge Funds and Trust fund managers were and continue to be paid in full. At that time, 476,995,175 shares of common stock were transferred to the Trust. (2021, October 11). The Beginning Pacific Gas & Electric - Wildfires are Us! He said the fire victims had to push to get tax relief on the stock sale last year. Attorneys for the fire victims negotiated the deal on behalf of survivors, and it was funded half with cash and half with foundering PG&E stock. California established a $21 billion wildfire safety net for state utilities that PG&E can tap if it has over $1 billion of fire claims in a year. The PGE Trust Oversight Committee is comprised of nine attorneys. In April 2002, he was named Managing Editor. Huge welcome back! And, to date 35% of the 68,870 of the wildfire victims still wait for what bankruptcy Judge Dennis Montali proclaimed would be quick and fair settlement payments to all victims. This is different from a class action lawsuit. Because of errors in the setup of how the trust was established, the tax issue was left unresolved, he said, triggering unnecessary delays that hindered victim compensation. In the meantime, between attorney's fees and taxes, fire victims are watching what settlement payments they do receive get smaller, along with their dreams of rebuilding anytime soon. Our work to process claims continues, and todays news is a sign of significant progress. Happy New Year. According to claims data as of September 30th from the Fire Victim Trust, nearly half of the close to 70-thousand claimants are still waiting to receive a 45% partial payment from the trust. We speak to claimants every day and know how hard this has been for everyone. (1) Moreover, Gov. Each and every claim must be substantiated and evaluated by the FVT in a comprehensive and methodical process carried out by an experienced team of professionals under the direction of court-appointed Trustee Justice John K. Trotter (ret.) While you may submit a claim on your own, we highly recommend consulting an attorney before submitting a claim form and electing to represent yourself in a complex bankruptcy matter. (2021a, May 17). These include the more comprehensive data now available to the Trust as more and more fire victims claims are filed and analyzed.. Thats why theyre called trusts., Visalia Times-Delta | Tulare Advance Register, Just hours before the Idaho murders, another grisly scene unfolded outside Bryan Kohberger's window, Polar bear kills woman, boy in remote Alaska village, Hawaii fisherman overboard, missing after hooking large ahi, Reality TV star Julie Chrisley reassigned from Florida prison to federal medical center, The rich and powerful flocked to Davos via private jet to discuss climate change, study finds, How a comedian and Air Force spouse are helping feed military families, How to make cheeseburger dumplings with the Dumpling Mafia, JetBlue plane bumps into another aircraft in JFK Airport's gate area. Any potential claimants who have not yet hired an attorney should be aware that the bankruptcy court will announce a bar date, after which time no further claims may be included in the proceeding or compensated. Our one and only goal is to give everyone whose lives have been disrupted and devastated by the wildfires the financial resources they need to rebuild their lives as soon as possible.. But all is fine with PGE now and their business and profits are growing again (though their stock is still trading at about $12 per share still under water for the victims stock). In addition to ensuring survivors would not be taxed on trust payments, the new law includes a provision exempting attorneys' fees from taxation to ensure that recipients of PG&E funds do not pay taxes on lawyers they did not hire. (2022, May 6). Reuters provides business, financial, national and international news to professionals via desktop terminals, the world's media organizations, industry events and directly to consumers. Trustee appointed 11 fire victims to serve on an official committee of tort claimants. This petition focuses on the victims of the Northern California wildfires between 2015 and 2018, including all wildfires in this period for which PGE was held legally responsible for victims losses in their 2019 U.S. Bankruptcy filing and proceedings and codified in their exit from their bankruptcy process, resulting in the creation of the PGE Fire Victim Trust. Retrieved June 5, 2022, from https://www.insurancejournal.com/news/west/2022/05/06/666497.htm, (10) ALLYN, J. Trustee, Most vulnerable in this process are the wildfire victims who were uninsured, underinsured or have potential claims against the company for personal injury and wrongful death. (4,5,6,7,8). San Francisco, CA Cathy Yanni, Trustee of the Fire Victim Trust (FVT), announced a pro rata payment increase from 45 percent to 60 percent effective January 31, 2023. In November 2020, the FVT decided to begin providing claimants who had submitted the required Claims Questionnaires with preliminary payments of up to $25,000. If PG&E performed well, so would they. The Bank of Japan (BOJ) made no adjustments to its yield-curve control (YCC) policy that keeps interest rates ultra-low on Wednesday. Retrieved June 5, 2022, from https://www.kqed.org/news/11851347/pge-bankruptcy-yields-700-million-legal-fee-bonanza-for-wall-street-firms, (8) PBS. Worse, the risk from fires has only been partially addressed. Get a confidential review of your case at no cost. "They have these enormous legal costs and theres not much to show for it.. Were not quite there yet, but getting closer! Distributing a portion of the bankruptcy settlement funds before claims could be fully evaluated was an unprecedented move, but a necessary one given the extreme hardship facing many individuals whose losses from the wildfires have been compounded by the Covid-19 pandemic and by the 2020 wildfires in Northern California. "I have heard from constituents across our community who are deeply, deeply concerned that they will face a tax burden upon receiving a payout from PG&E," Thompson said in a news release. The Fire Victim Trust was set up to compensate 67,000 victims as part of a bankruptcy settlement. Newsom arbitrarily approved their safety rating while they continue to start fires and the California Public Utilities Commission (CPUC), also appointed by Gov. That price created a shortfall of approximately $2.4 billion less than expected, and it has lingered between $10 and $12 and closed at $9.78 as of Friday, June 17, 2022.. To download an extensive set of FAQs, click here. There are a number of bankruptcy attorneys and financial advisers SAN FRANCISCO (KGO) -- Fire victims struggling to rebuild after California wildfires say they need every dollar coming their way from a PG&E settlement. He said in his letter that the trust still owns 377 million shares of the utilitys stock. (14), The PGE Bankruptcy Court settlement, which Governor Newsom approved, favors and fully compensates everyone except the wildfire victims. The payments average approximately $13,000. Read the responses, , the Trust sent letters in support of H.R. So, if you receive $100,000 and give 25% to your attorney, you are still taxed on the full $100,000. But if the toll from fires exceeds whats in that pot, PG&Es solvency might even be at risk. "You know if the state can get it done, why can't the federal government," said LaMalfa. Build the strongest argument relying on authoritative content, attorney-editor expertise, and industry defining technology. Shortly after the October 2017 North Bay Fires, members of the affected communities began filing lawsuits against PG&E based on the companys alleged role in causing the disaster. The new payout, effective Feb. 15, will allow victims to gain 45% of claim value, instead of the current 30%. The victims approval of the bankruptcy deal ($13.5 half in cash and half in PG&E stock) which by itself was unprecedented, that is, that victims would have to take a stock from its defendant for half of their settlement. However, we encourage all potential claimants to discuss their case with an attorney in a timely manner to begin the process. What's wrong with this picture? The industry leader for online information for tax, accounting and finance professionals. All Rights Reserved. Additional rounds of pro rata payments will follow until the fund is depleted. @TheDaraKam is back in the Terracotta Room talking about property insurance, this week with consumer advocate Amy Bach, executive director of @UPHelp Read The PGE 2020 Bankruptcy and PGE Fire Victim Trust. Gov. VIDEO: PG&E stock sale may mean more cash for California wildfire victims. and the Claims Administrator Cathy Yanni, the Fire Victim Trust provides an efficient and equitable process to compensate Fire Victims for both economic and non-economic damages caused by these fires, including destruction or damage to real estate and personal property, additional living expenses, lost wages, business losses, emotional distress, personal injury and death. The trust, which he took over two years ago, was funded with $13.5 billion, half in cash and half in the PG&E common stock. Your attorney will prepare the necessary information about your case and file a proof of claim on your behalf in the PG&E bankruptcy court. And the Hedge Fund investors have been paid in full over nine months ago with huge stock incentives in PG&E stock bonuses for accepting the Fire Victim Trusts deal, and as soon as they received the PG&E stock at full market price and their stock bonuses for accepting the victims deal, they sold all their PG&E stock with hundreds of millions dollars in profits, paid from the $55 billion PGE bankruptcy settlement. PGE Fire Victim Trust (Well-Paid) Bureaucracy, At the top of the fee food-chain heap is, of course, the Fire Victim Trust managers (i.e., the Trustee (John Trotter), the Manager (Cindy Yanni), and the Special Master (Ellen Sickle James) who are reported to earn make $125,000, $200,000 and $176,000 per month, respectively. Primarily, those debts and liabilities relate to wildfire claims. It is an important development for fire survivors, and I share the. Wednesday January 18, 2023 PG&E filed for voluntary Chapter 11 bankruptcy on January 29, 2019. Insurance Journal. Because unlike all the other bankruptcy claimants, the victims received one-half of their $13.5 billion dollar settlement in PGE stock. Claimants with Submitted Claims Questionnaires (CQs), ,the Rather, each wildfire claimant (or unsecured creditor) must file a separate claim in the bankruptcy court to safeguard their right to compensation. He approved the deal crafted largely favoring the interests of PG&E, Wall Street Hedge Fund investors that owned approximately 10% of PG&Es stock, and a small group of victims law firms that represented large groups of wildfire victims. Will new regulations do enough to keep homeowners from losing fire insurance. The Trust issues Determination Notices daily and issues payments twice a month. We are part of a significant group of voters. At this time, the court has not yet issued a claims Bar Date (the deadline for submitting claims), nor has the court approved an official claim form for wildfire losses. As of March 15, PG&E had paid out $3.04 billion in preliminary and pro-rata payments and awarded another $7.04 billion in determination notices. We are looking for a Governor to vote for that can help us get "fair" compensation as promised by PGE bankruptcy Judge Dennis Montali. More information about the PG&E bankruptcy is provided below. (8), In fact, the funds earmarked for wildfire disaster victims have first, quickly and more than fairly gone to the unwieldy and ineffectively operated PG&E Fire Victim Trust bureaucracy, (with excessive fees paid to the Trust managers and consultants); to the insurance companies that received full reimbursement of their homeowner insurance subrogation claim payments, and; complete payouts and large stock bonuses to the Hedge Funds for accepting the bad (half-stock) deal they all agreed to offer to the wildfire victims. VIDEO: Will new regulations do enough to keep homeowners from losing fire insurance? Quick and fair compensation rang through the courtroom and, at last, us victims felt financial retribution was finally on the way after waiting now 5, 3 and 2 years after our respective fires. ABC7News. Under the terms of their bankruptcy, PG&E pledged to pay victims $13.5 billion in cash and expected stock sales. The number of claimants, variety of claims, quantity of claims, and size of the multi-billion dollar fund make this one of the largest and most complex mass tort settlements in California history. These preliminary payments, which have totaled $79 million to date, will continue to be made on an ongoing basis. And their fees are paid directly from PGE Fire Victim Trust funds designated primarily for the victims loss compensation from the PG&E settlement. (2), This petition also addresses the actions that embellished and continue to embellish these legal, financial, and government entities and politicians who benefited and continue to benefit from wildfire victims disaster recovery. 4955). Santa Rosa Press Democrat. This increase was made possible by the Trusts recent sales of Pacific Gas & Electric stock. Their millions upon millions of dollars from their 33% contingency fees from hundreds/thousands of wildfire victim clients they represent (plus costs) were in the balance and the sooner PG&E came out of bankruptcy, the sooner theyd start to get paid as the PG&E Fire Victim Trust excruciatingly slowly started to make pro rata (that is, partial) payments to some of their clients. They were just asking legitimate questions on behalf of their constituents. PGE is Fine and Raising Electric Rates on Customers Again. SAN FRANCISCO (AP) A trust approved by a federal judge to help compensate victims of deadly California wildfires sparked by Pacific Gas & Electric equipment paid opt-out claim, and issuance 90% of all Determination Notices. Prior Trustee updates are included on the Documents page here. Congressman LaMalfa along with Congressman Mike Thompson introduced legislation that would exempt fire victims receiving compensation from the Fire Victim Trust from having to pay federal income tax on their settlements. This petition originates from one familys continued trials and tribulations with The Biggest Victim Economy Ever Created: The 2020 PG&E Fire Victim Trust, which was setup to fail the victims by bankruptcy Judge Dennis Montali and continues to treat them unfairly, despite Montalis promise to pay the victims quickly and fairly. The lawsuits were subsequently coordinated into a single mass tort proceeding in San Francisco County Superior Court (JCCP No. Landslide Debris Cancels ACE Train Service Through Niles Canyon, Water Agencies Seek Solution to Unhoused Residents Living in Creek Beds, Man Accused in Wife's Murder Made Shocking Google Searches in Days After Her Disappearance, Michigan Family Gets Life in Prison for Killing Family Dollar Guard Over Face Mask Dispute, SF Residents Give City Officials Earful About Increase in Crime, Decrease in Quality of Life, Rain Wednesday Will Add to Historic Wet Period in Bay Area. 52. Who may act as Legal Representative for a Minor Claimant, and what The North Bay fires of 2017 alone claimed 44 lives, burned more than 200,000 acres and destroyed 5,300 homes in Napa, Sonoma, Lake, Mendocino and Solano counties. He also said the trust hired Morgan Stanley to manage the sale of the first 100 shares of stocks, netting the trust $1.2 billion. iv. As part of a settlement, the Fire Victim Trust received half of an expected $13.5 billion payout in stock and the rest in cash. Accordingly, if you or a loved one experienced personal injury, property loss, business losses, or other damages, you should consult a lawyer in a timely manner. If a Disaster Declaration is issued, it can be either a Emergency Declaration (to supplement state, local, and tribal government efforts to provide debris removal and emergency protective measures or to lessen/avert, Need a last minute holiday gift? Assembly Bill No. The trust owns about 24% of the companys shares, worth around $4 billion. For more information, visit FireVictimTrust.com. Again, the majority of wildfire victims had been waiting 3 to 6 years (in our case 3 years) and his words fair settlement in a reasonable amount of time washed over us like a long-awaited shower after being stranded in the wildfire jungle for years. 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