Fire victim trust next payment 2024 california
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Robert W. Wood
Managing Partner
Wood LLP
Email:wood@WoodLLP.com
Univ of Chicago Law School
www.woodLLP.com
Wood is a tax lawyer at Wood LLP, and often advises lawyers and litigants about tax issues.
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Tax relief for wildfire victims has been a hot topic. When a larger tax bill with wildfire tax relief seemed poised to fail in the Senate (as it eventually did), the House passed in May of this year an older stand-alone bill, H.R. 5863, the "Federal Disaster Relief Act of 2023" that contained only the disaster relief provisions. H.R. 5863 passed the House by a large margin, 382 in favor and only 7 against. The Senate has finally passed it as well, by unanimous voice vote. President Biden is expected to sign the bill into law.
California's devastating wildfires have included the 2015 Butte fire, the 2017 North Bay Fires, the 2017 Thomas Fire, the 2018 Mendocino Complex Fire, the 2018 Woolsey Fire, the 2019 Kincade Fire, the 2018 Camp Fire, the 2020 Zogg Fire, the 2020 August Complex Fire, and the 2021 Dixie Fire. There have also been large wildfires in recent years in Washington, Kansas, Oklahoma, Tennessee, Montana, Arizona,
March 12, 2021, San Francisco – On Monday, March 15, the Fire Victim Trust (FVT) will begin distributing the first round of pro rata payments toward satisfying the claims of individuals and families who suffered losses in the 2015 Butte Fire, 2017 North Bay Fires and 2018 Camp Fire. The initial pro rata payment will be 30% of the total approved and accepted claim amount.
A total of 71,394 Fire Victims filed claims by the February 26, 2021, deadline. There are eight categories of claims types. 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.) and Claims Administrator Cathy Yanni. 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.
“I’m pleased that the Trust is able to start making substantial pro rata payments in what has been a relatively short period of time by any bankruptcy settlement standard. My goal from day one has been to put money
Dec. 9, 2024 Update: A client of Watts Guerra LLP shared this message from the firm with Action News Now:
"Archer Systems has started processing the 4% payments this month. They are being sent out in groups of 1,000 and in alphabetical order."
Back on November 13, 2024, Mikal Watts of Watts Guerra LLP told Action News Now that clients could expect the pro-rata payments that the trust distributed on October 24th by thanksgiving. But just days later, Archer Systems told clients this is not the case. In a message to one client, Archer said it is still working on fraud and lien searches, quote "to ensure the integrity of the payment process". Archer said those payments won't begin to go out until December 4th.
Action News Now checked back with the law firm, which is now walking back it's timeline claim. Mikal Watts said on November 13 that he will be checking back with Archer for the latest information, but did not explain why he believed payments were already on the way.
Action News Now has reached out to Archer Systems multiple times by phone and email and is still working to get information about the distribution holdup.
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BUTTE COUNTY, Calif. - Six years after the Ca
Rethinking fire safety as a society includes planning for the aftermath of a wildfire disaster.
The recovery and resiliency for our families and our communities, devastated by wildfires, largely depends upon the payments they will or will not receive from the investor-owned utilities like PG&E that were found criminally negligent for igniting catastrophic wildfires, according to William Abrams, representative for The Utility Wildfire Survivor Coalition. Abrams ruined his house in the 2017 Tubbs Fire.
When the Camp Flame burned through Paradise, California in November 2018, more than 18,000 structures were destroyed, and 85 people lost their lives.
PG&E was found liable and criminally remiss and William Johnson, a CEO at PG&E provided sworn testimony to the California Public Utilities Commission stating PG&E’s commitment to “fully and fairly compensate all wildfire victims.”
In addition, Mikal Watts, the chief negotiator and conduct attorney for that settlement stated that “we can make sure people are fully paid.”
Governor Newsom also made commitments to carry PG&E accountable and in a public letter to the PG&E Bankruptcy Court assured victim
Fire Victim Trust increases payments to California fire survivors
Fire Victim Trust raises pro rata payments for survivors
Cathy Yanni, the Trustee of the Fire Victim Trust (FVT), has announced an increase in the pro rata payment from 60% to 66%, effective from April 25, 2024.
This decision comes after the Trust successfully sold its remaining 477 million shares of Pacific Gas & Electric (PG&E) stock, which were awarded during the bankruptcy proceedings.
This move is set to enhance the financial assistance provided to the survivors of various catastrophic fires in California.
“With $1.2 billion in additional liquidity from our final stock sales and 97% of claims now accepted and final, we are confident we can safely increase the pro rata payment percentage for all fire survivors by six percent,” Cathy Yanni stated.
The FVT’s journey and stock sales
Established in July 2020, the FVT was designed to facilitate and expedite the compensation of claims arising from the 2015 Butte Fire, 2017 North Bay Fires, and 2018 Camp Fire.
It was funded through both cash and stock shares as part of PG&E’s Chapter 11 Plan of Reorganization.
Following it