Add San Diego County to the long list of plaintiffs suing San Diego Gas & Electric and Cox Communications for damages caused by three of last October's wildfires.
The suits, filed yesterday in San Diego Superior Court, do not specify how much money the county is seeking. But whatever the amount, it will be small compared with the sums being sought by other plaintiffs.
“We're still calculating and still trying to capture all of the possible recoverable damages,” said Deborah McCarthy, chief deputy county counsel.
McCarthy said damages will include loss of property tax revenue resulting from damage to and destruction of private property; loss of wildlife habitat; debris removal; and destruction of public buildings. Three of the most damaging 2007 wildfires – the Witch Creek, Guejito and Rice Canyon fires – were started when sparks from arcing SDG&E power lines ignited brush during high winds, two separate state investigations have found.
More than 40 lawsuits have now been filed. All are before one judge, who has ordered the dozens of lawyers representing thousands of clients to organize the cases into seven “master complaints.” The county's suits will be merged with those.
Two of the master complaints deal with governmental agencies seeking reimbursements for costs.
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Overview
Background: San Diego County is the latest to file lawsuits against San Diego Gas & Electric and Cox Communications to recover costs associated with three of the largest 2007 wildfires.
What's happening: More than 40 lawsuits, filed on behalf of governmental agencies, private property owners, insurance companies and others have been filed seeking what many estimate will total more than $1 billion in damages
The future: The lawsuits are not expected to go to trial for at least two years. The next major court hearing is scheduled for March 19.
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The others deal with different types of plaintiffs, including insurance companies and hundreds of private property owners who lost homes, ranches, farms and businesses.
Those involved in the proceedings predict the total amount of damages being sought will exceed $1 billion. The largest chunk will be from insurance companies seeking to recover money they have paid to their customers.
Some of the suits also name Cox Communications as a defendant for its role in the Guejito fire. Investigations have concluded the fire started when a loose support cable attached to a Cox fiber-optic line in the San Pasqual Valley struck an SDG&E power line, causing it to arc.
The Guejito fire merged with the Witch Creek fire the morning of Oct. 22. Exactly what land the Guejito and Witch Creek fires burned promises to be the subject of intense scrutiny as the litigation progresses.
SDG&E and Cox have disputed the conclusion of the state investigations.
An SDG&E spokeswoman recently said that there is a big difference between an ignition source and responsibility and liability for the fires, considering the extreme Santa Ana winds that were blowing.
Cox has maintained that the support cable on its line came loose after an SDG&E power line struck it in high winds.
J. Harry Jones: (760) 737-7579; jharry.jones@uniontrib.com
