Your attorney will continue to represent you throughout the remainder of the proceedings until your case is resolved. It is surprising to me that the enormous task managing a $13.5 billion trust would go to an octogenarian in the twilight years of his life, let alone his professional career, addressing the adjudication of settlements for 68,870 victim families and businesses. The new payout, effective Feb. 15, will allow victims to gain 45% of claim value, instead of the current 30%. 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. Primarily, those debts and liabilities relate to wildfire claims. After Appeal (or any earlier point at which the Fire Victim accepts their determination), the determination becomes final, and the claims move into the payment process. San Francisco, CA 94104, 2023 | ATTORNEY ADVERTISING MATERIAL | Privacy Policy & Disclaimer | Sitemap. At the closing of the PG&E bankruptcy trial in July 2020, Judge Dennis Montali (the judge and only judge presiding over the PG&E bankruptcy proceeding) proclaimed and I paraphrase and quote him: This PG&E $13.5 billion dollar wildfire victim settlement will allow for victims of the wildfires to be compensated for their losses quickly and fairly. That finally sounded good to the 68,870 families who lost homes and personal property in 2015, 2017, and 2018 Northern California wildfires for which PG&E was accused of and admitted to in court their negligence for our losses and was now officially named responsible for our losses. "We don't have enough to rebuild and we're just essentially stuck," Camp Fire Survivor David Breed recently told ABC7 News. In retrospect, perhaps Judge Montali might have selected a Trustee in the prime of his career and less stubborn about getting his way or the highway and less sensitive to constructive public criticism. 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. (9) The deal was forged by this cast of players, i.e., Judge Montali, the Hedge Fund managers, the PG&E and Victims attorneys, and other large creditors and received the stamp-of-approval by Gov. We have a trustee who is making $150,000 a month, a top claims administrator is making $1,250 an hour. Give the people you love peace of mind by helping them be financially resilient and prepared.ThisGive Peace of Mind Gift Catalogis full of free tips to help spark important discussions and actions around disaster preparedness. The FVT was created in July 2020 and funded with both cash and shares of stock pursuant to PG&Es Chapter 11 Plan of Reorganization. Compensating victims will be a recurring challenge; giving them a volatile asset prone to falling in value turns out to be a poor solution. (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. Many, if not all the victims lawyers, surely wanted the clock to start as soon as possible. We are making every effort to pay as much as we can, as quickly as we can.. At the same time, attorneys for PG&E will prepare a competing (and likely lower) estimation of the wildfire claims. (4), And the legions of lawyers and consultants from the Greenberg law firm in North Carolina (who Trustee Trotter hired) are surely making handsome consulting fees, though the Trustee keeps these fees close to his chest wonder why? Santa Rosa Press Democrat. For more information, visit FireVictimTrust.com. (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. Each of these government and financial entities have benefited over the best interests of the wildfire victims, and Trust funds that were meant to go to wildfire victims have first gone to these groups and continue to go to these groups first, as well as to the managers and consultants of the PG&E Fire Victim Trust. The TCC and its attorneys have a fiduciary duty to advocate for the interests of all fire and other tort claimants in the bankruptcy proceeding. Scott McNutt, a former California State Bar governor and veteran bankruptcy attorney, told KQED the amounts charged are excessive for the meager results obtained so far and that the trust has been completely non-transparent about what its doing for this money., One of the hallmarks of the bankruptcy process is transparency, he said. There are a number of bankruptcy attorneys and financial advisers Will new regulations do enough to keep homeowners from losing fire insurance. Claimants (or their lawyers, if represented) can access their confidential claims information, notices, and other program materials by logging into their secure Portal account here. WebThe PGE 2020 Bankruptcy and PGE Fire Victim Trust PGE's bankruptcy workout plan to pay for victims' losses from the 2015, 2017 and 2018 Northern California wildfires was approved by California Gov. Trustee appointed 11 fire victims to serve on an official committee of tort claimants. The family knew they wanted to rebuild. Insurance Journal. 115 0 obj <> endobj While the TCC acts in the collective interest of all tort claimants, the committee does not represent any individual homeowners, renters, businesses, or other wildfire victims in their damage claims against PG&E. The court-ordered trust of over $13 billion was established for survivors of devastating Northern California wildfires including the 2015 Butte Fire, the 2017 North Bay Fires and the 2018 Camp Fire. They now collectively own almost a quarter of the companys shares. Build the strongest argument relying on authoritative content, attorney-editor expertise, and industry defining technology. After any disputes over the value of claims are resolved, the appropriate amount will be designated for the compensation of wildfire claims and placed into a trust as part of PG&Es Chapter 11 reorganization plan (or, financial restructuring). Reach us by phone or through our brief online form at any time to discuss your claim. (1,2) Instead, the facts show that payments to victims have been pro rata at 45% of victims' losses, and again, this is 45% of a 60% average settlement offer (and 33%-plus of this goes to the victims attorneys fees and costs). This increase was made possible by the Trusts recent sales of Pacific Gas & Electric stock. Less than 1% of all claims have been appealed. With such financial leverage, certainly Trustee Trotter could (and still could) have found a way to leverage our position by borrowing against our stock and preserving our position rather than squandering it away. These preliminary payments, which have totaled $79 million to date, will continue to be made on an ongoing basis. You brought an important and unique perspective to the hearing, that of homeowners themselves., Whenever I felt confused about any topic I first looked it up in the yellow book. Searchable Archives are available to subscribers, back through the year 2000. 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. With another 2022 California State budget surplus of $97 billion dollars, please propose allocating $1.5 to $3.5 billion to fully compensate the the wildfire losses of 68,870 wildfire victim families (250,000 citizens/voters) of Northern California. RELATED: Fire Victim Trust answers questions about $51 million spent as CA wildfire victims await payments. 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. They do not reflect the views of Reuters News, which, under the Trust Principles, is committed to integrity, independence, and freedom from bias. United States Trustee Program Director Elliot - Fix the Biggest Victim Economy Ever Created by the U.S. Bankruptcy Program! It is an important development for fire survivors, and I share the press releaseissued today for more details. Please Fix the Biggest Victim Economy You Approved by providing equitable compensation to the 2015, 2017 and 2018 wildfire victims. (15). The court-ordered trust of over $13 billion was established for survivors of devastating Northern California wildfires including the 2015 Butte Fire, the 2017 North Bay Why? SAN FRANCISCO (KGO) -- Fire victims struggling to rebuild after California wildfires say they need every dollar coming their way from a PG&E settlement. Governor, we are one of 68,870 families and businesses (250,000 Californians) waiting for full relief for our PGE-caused losses. Representatives for the Fire Victim Trust declined to be interviewed. An annual report filed in federal bankruptcy court last week by its trustee, John Trotter, reported $38. 7 million spent on financial professionals, claims administrators, consultants and other operating expenses between July 1 and the end of 2020. Sound rich to you? The PGE Trust Oversight Committee is comprised of nine attorneys. And Trustee Trotter, in his not-so-infinite wisdom, has already sold 100 million shares of the victims PGE stock at $12.04 per share for a $212 million loss. Hedge Funds Cash Out Billions in PG&E Stock. 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.) I think that is a positive for the trust and the fire victims, Crowder said on Wednesday afternoon. Access unmatched financial data, news and content in a highly-customised workflow experience on desktop, web and mobile. I recommend them without reservation., We cannot thank you enough for all your support, education and assistance through our recovery from the 2017 Tubbs Fire. Read the responses here. In a letter to fire victims in April, fund trustee John Trotter said it had retained Richmond, Virginia-based BrownGreer to process claims and that the firm has 300 staff members committed to this project, including attorneys, project managers, analysts, claim reviewers, and software developers.". [1/2]A PG&E tracks passes the line of the Dixie Fire near Taylorsville, California, August 10, 2021. PARADISE, Calif. - Victims from the Butte Fire, North Bay fires, and Camp Fire will receive an increased pro-rata payment from 30% to 45%. He said the fire victims had to push to get tax relief on the stock sale last year. 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. Reuters provides business, financial, national and international news to professionals via desktop terminals, the world's media organizations, industry events and directly to consumers. To download an extensive set of FAQs, click here. 141 0 obj <>/Filter/FlateDecode/ID[<5282CBEF541C3F44B3C7ABABD9F0131F><7AF137A6936E014296BF315C2A3AFEF3>]/Index[115 39]/Info 114 0 R/Length 117/Prev 236867/Root 116 0 R/Size 154/Type/XRef/W[1 3 1]>>stream And we certainly should not be asking them to pay taxes on funds that are going to their lawyers this would be double taxing the settlement dollars. He said his rent is triple what he paid for his mortgage in Paradise. 7305 to amend IRS Code of 1986 for certain fire survivors' claimants. Check out Bay Area safety tracker, Bay Area Life; Sundays at 6:30 p.m. on ABC7, Fire Victim Trust answers questions about $51 million spent as CA wildfire victims await payments. Trotter said that once the trust was created, the only employees working for it were he and Yanni, who was his claims administrator. But its enterprise value of $60 billion is under 8 times estimated EBITDA over the next 12 months, whereas peers trade over 11 times, according to Refinitiv. Paradise mayor Steve Crowder welcomed the news of Trotters retirement. Director Ward is one of the nations foremost emergency managers with broad experience working at @DHSgov @fema @FEMARegion9 as well as Cal OES. A vote for Yes or No was essentially all the victims received no substantial input. 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. Under the direction of the Trustee, the Honorable John K. Trotter (Ret.) There are eight categories of claims types. He said that they ended up hiring 500 people along with a processing firm BrownGreer that was in charge of receiving, reviewing, and valuing the claims. 10/31/22 . He noted that the bankruptcy court created two pots of money, one for the insurance companies and another for fire victims, including federal and state agency claimants. Thank you @GavinNewsom for the appointment of #NancyWard. Michael Internicola and his family lost everything in the 2017 Tubbs Fire. "It was really disappointing that many members of Congress signed a letter asking for clarification and they took five months fooling around getting back to us," said LaMalfa. Billions in PG & E stock and mobile Disclaimer | Sitemap subscribers, back through the year 2000 expenses... 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