Community Corner

PG&E Denies Court Filing Blames San Bruno Fire Victims

The utility today fired back at claims that a recent court filing implied that the victims of the Sept. 9 blast may be responsible for the injuries or losses suffered in the explosion.

In response to media reports that PG&E in a court filing last week tried to blame some of the Sept. 9 fire on the victims, the utility denied that claim today and said the filing was merely a legal response to a "very broad" lawsuit.

The San Francisco Chronicle first reported Monday about the filing, which seemed to imply the victims of the deadly pipeline explosion may have been legally responsible for their injuries and that PG&E should not have to make payouts to the residents of the Crestmoor neighborhood in San Bruno who have sued the utility because the blast was caused by a 2008 sewer construction project the city commissioned near Line 132, which exploded into a deadly fireball.

But Pacific Gas & Electric Co. fired back today in a statement that said the July 5 filing wasn't claiming any of the victims of the fire were at fault. Rather, PG&E said, the filing was a legal response submitted as part of the ongoing coordinated case  in connection with the pipeline explosion, which includes 86 lawsuits and accuses the utility of a variety of charges.

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"We want it to be crystal clear that no one at PG&E would suggest that the plaintiffs or residents of San Bruno impacted by this accident are somehow at fault for the tragedy," the statement said.  

PG&E also said the following in response to the Monday's media reports about the filing:

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We also want it to be equally clear that, contrary to news reports, residents who received financial assistance from PG&E after the accident will not be asked to repay those funds or to forego the right to pursue legal claims for damages. We gave our word at the time that this assistance came with no strings attached. We stand by that pledge.

To assure our intent is clear, today we submitted an amendment to our earlier filing that explicitly states that none of the plaintiffs or residents of San Bruno are at fault. 

PG&E remains committed to promptly paying claims and rebuilding San Bruno. The San Mateo County Superior Court has assured the parties that resolution of these cases is its top priority and PG&E supports that goal. 

Some news articles also inaccurately reported that language in the filing was intended to implicate the city of San Bruno’s sewer replacement project in the cause of the accident. The language in the filing did not name the city of San Bruno or any third party. The National Transportation Safety Board has not determined the cause of the San Bruno accident, and has said it will release its report before the end of the year. PG&E continues to work with the NTSB and California’s Public Utilities Commission on their investigations.


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