Is the Moss Landing Fire a Class Action Lawsuit?
No, we are filing our cases against Vistra Corp. and PG&E as individual claims. Each of our clients suffered unique losses. While the judge may coordinate the handling of these cases, generally they are not appropriate as a class action.
Many people think that because of the large number of impacted residents and business that this must be handled as a class action. But, this is not like a defective refrigerator lawsuit, in which the defect caused the refrigerator to fail and all of the consumers suffered the same loss. In those cases, it makes sense for the court to require a representative to describe the loss, and then the money can be evenly distributed with each claimant receiving the same amount.
Here, the type of losses may vary from property damage to personal injuries. And the severity of the loss may also vary: the inconvenience of evacuation vs. the hospitalization for throat burns. We represent individuals who had to evacuate, had soot on their property that required clean up and some who did not evacuate but suffered serious respiratory distress and skin burns. Because of such differences, the court has recognized in similar lawsuits that a class action would not work.
Cases involving large scale losses are often referred to as “mass torts.”. Potentially thousands of people have been impacted, and one or two defendants are likely responsible. A single judge will be assigned to coordinate the cases, they will manage all the common facts and law; but the individual differences will be handled on a case-by-case basis.
To hold Vistra and PG&E accountable for their corporate negligence in allowing the fire and thermal runaway event, you should contact an attorney today.