SAN FRANCISCO — A trust representing more than 80,000 victims of deadly wildfires ignited by Pacific Gas and Electric’s [PG&E] rickety electrical grid is suing nearly two dozen of the utility’s former executives and board members for alleged dereliction of their duty to ensure the equipment wouldn’t kill people.
The complaint filed Wednesday, Feb. 24, 2021, in San Francisco Superior Court is an offshoot of a $13.5 billion settlement that PG&E reached with the wildfire victims in late 2019 while the utility was mired in bankruptcy from January 2019 through June last year.
The deal granted the victims the right to go after the utility’s hierarchy leading up to and during a series of wildfires during 2017 and 2018 that upended their lives. The list includes two of PG&E's former chief executives, Anthony Earley and Geisha Williams, who were paid millions of dollars during their reigns.
READ MORE FROM ABC10'S INVESTIAGATIONS ON PG&E:
- Investigation: PG&E made shutoff decisions on ‘junk science’ | ABC10 Originals
- Judge grills PG&E lawyer as new Zogg Fire details emerge
- ABC10 Investigation: PG&E knew old power line parts had ‘severe wear’ months before deadly Camp Fire
- 'PG&E has been a terror...to the people of California' judge says during probation hearing
- Shasta County Father sues PG&E for death of wife and daughter in Zogg Fire, calls for criminal prosecution
ABC10: Watch, Download, Read
Watch more from ABC10:
California Is in the middle of a burning crisis and it's going to cost all of us. The problem can often seem too big and complicated to grasp, but reporter Brandon Rittiman breaks it down in an ABC10 Originals series: Fire - Power - Money.
