fire victims trust payouts
Fire Survivors Suffer and Wait. It certainly appears that the lawyers, either working for the Trust or victims, were and are being paid well and in full for their services. https://www.cityandstatefl.com/podcast/2022/12/episode-21-how-will-changes-floridas-insurance-laws-affect-homeowners/381003/, This group provided valuable information and support for those who lost their homes in the Fourmile Fire two years ago and they have worked in many other communities that have suffered property damaging disasters. Huge welcome back! Trotter pointed out that the insurance trust received $11 billion in cash to satisfy its claim of having to payout $16 billion to its insureds and for maintaining an additional $4 billion in reserve. All local city and county governments, large financial Hedge Funds that were investors in PGE, PGE and its attorneys, and the victims lawyers are and have been paid in full and quickly from the PGE bankruptcy $55 billion dollar settlement. "We should not ask survivors to pay federal taxes on compensation that they will use to rebuild their lives. 7305 to amend IRS Code of 1986 for certain fire survivors' claimants. Thats between $800 and $1,250 per hour. And, again, our deal was crafted by these players such that victims would receive a $13.5 billion dollar settlement, but half of that amount (i.e., $6.75 billion) was to be paid to the victims in PG&E stock, only to find out that when PG&E exited bankruptcy the victims stock was already over $1.5 billion underwater. Gavin Newsom and U.S. Bankruptcy Judge Dennis Montali and is being implemented by PGE Fire Victim Trust Trustee John Trotter who suddenly retired this week. Newsom and the California State Legislature enacted Senate Bill AB 1054 which provides full (100%) compensation for future wildfire victims after July 2019, but does not cover the 2015, 2017, and 2018 wildfire victims whose plight spawned the legislation and who are currently being paid about 60% of their bona fide claims losses and Trustee John Trotter is only paying 45% of the 60%. Their millions upon millions of dollars from their 33% contingency fees from hundreds/thousands of wildfire victim clients they represent (plus costs) were in the balance and the sooner PG&E came out of bankruptcy, the sooner theyd start to get paid as the PG&E Fire Victim Trust excruciatingly slowly started to make pro rata (that is, partial) payments to some of their clients. Why? The trust has also dealt with 100 emotional distress claims along with more than 20,000 loss of income claims and 38,000 real and personal property claims, which include the value of loss of vegetation and the cost of tree replacement. PG&E is in the process of paying $13.5 billion to survivors of the deadly Butte, North Bay, and Camp fires; legislation will protect these funds from federal taxes. Fire Victims may accept this initial determination or may request additional review and submit supplemental claim materials as part of the Reconsideration and Appeals processes. There are eight categories of claims types. Most of the PG&E fire lawsuits are contingent fee lawsuits which means that the attorney fees cannot be excluded from the gross award ( Comm v Banks ). Thank you @GavinNewsom for the appointment of #NancyWard. To download an extensive set of FAQs, click here. PARADISE, Calif. - There is a new The victims stake has fallen in value to around $4 billion. Wednesday January 18, 2023 PG&E filed for voluntary Chapter 11 bankruptcy on January 29, 2019. PG&E was forced into bankruptcy after its equipment sparked the Camp Fire that killed at least 85 people and nearly wiped out the Northern California town of Paradise. He also said the trust hired Morgan Stanley to manage the sale of the first 100 shares of stocks, netting the trust $1.2 billion. Trustee, Most vulnerable in this process are the wildfire victims who were uninsured, underinsured or have potential claims against the company for personal injury and wrongful death. As of a week ago, the trustee had paid $4.05 billion to more than 46,000 victims. He said in his letter that the trust still owns 377 million shares of the utilitys stock. An unidentified spokesman for the Fire Victim Trust told KQED the fund has now increased its payments to families, putting $195.2 million into the hands of those who lost loved ones, homes and businesses to fires caused by PG&E. Most importantly, the bankruptcy does not prevent individuals and families impacted by the North Bay and Camp fires from asserting their right to compensation against PG&E. California Senator Dianne Feinstein introduced companion legislation in the Senate. Will new regulations do enough to keep homeowners from losing fire insurance. I hope 2023 will be a good year for fire survivors and am delighted to share that the Fire Victim Trust announced today that it will be increasing pro rata payments from 45 percent to 60 percent effective January 31, 2023. 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.) With another 2022 California State budget surplus of $97 billion dollars, please propose allocating $1.5 to $3.5 billion to fully compensate the the wildfire losses of 68,870 wildfire victim families (250,000 citizens/voters) of Northern California. The Trust reviews claims and issues Determination Notices daily and disburses payments twice monthly, compensating Fire Victims for economic and non-economic damages caused by the 2015 Butte, 2017 North Bay, and 2018 Camp Fires, including destruction or damage to real estate and personal property, additional living expenses, lost wages, business losses, emotional distress, personal injury or death and related medical expenses. KQED. Governor Newsom. Trust announced the sale of 60 million shares of PG&E stock, resolution of the 10th A vote for Yes or No was essentially all the victims received no substantial input. That voicemail was widely criticized by local politicians and inspired another letter from the board. I believe that we needed an open line of communication with the trust which I did not get the feeling Justice Trotter supported that, but I do believe we have that going forward with Cathy Yanni.. Your attorney will continue to represent you throughout the remainder of the proceedings until your case is resolved. All Rights Reserved. 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 RELATED: Fire Victim Trust answers questions about $51 million spent as CA wildfire victims await payments. The trust, which he took over two years ago, was funded with $13.5 billion, half in cash and half in the PG&E common stock. Forgot Password? Please Wait This Portal is the secure website to exchange information between a Fire Victim or a Fire Victims law firm and the Administrators of the Fire Victim Trust. Only persons authorized by the Claims Administrator and the Claims Processor may use this Portal. Victims of past fires share PG&Es risk, though, too. Retrieved June 5, 2022, from https://www.capradio.org/articles/2021/05/17/a-cascade-of-outrage-follows-investigation-into-pge-fire-victim-trust-expenses/, (5) California Legislative Information. The PGE 2020 Bankruptcy and PGE Fire Victim Trust. In his letter to victims, Trotter recounted the creation of the trust and its recent history. . The insurance trust received $11 billion in cash to satisfy its claim of having paid $16 billion to its insured and for maintaining an additional $4 The deal was structured to avoid having to pay taxes on the sale, authorities said. Retrieved June 5, 2022, from https://www.kqed.org/news/11891626/hedge-funds-cash-out-billions-in-pge-stock-fire-survivors-suffer-and-wait, (2) Trust Distributed $1.69B to PG&E California Fire Victims in 2021. At that time, 476,995,175 shares of common stock were transferred to the Trust. These individual victims should not be left to fend for themselves in a creditor class outnumbered by sophisticated and deep-pocketed financial institutions and insurance companies.. He said that they ended up hiring 500 people along with a processing firm BrownGreer that was in charge of receiving, reviewing, and valuing the claims. the press release, the Trustee posted responses to fire survivors' questions submitted during a recent meeting hosted by Sonoma County Supervisors Susan Gorin and James Gore. The FVT laid the groundwork for releasing pro rata payments in mid-February when it began sending Claims Determination Notices to Fire Victims whose claims had been fully processed and evaluated. This time period may be shorter than the statute of limitations that might otherwise apply in the civil court. With $2.82 billion in additional liquidity from our recent stock sales, we were confident we could safely increase the pro rata payment percentage for all Fire Victims, said Cathy Yanni. The court-ordered trust of over $13 billion was established for survivors of devastating Northern California wildfires including the 2015 Butte Fire, the 2017 North Bay Fires and the 2018 Camp Fire. Sound rich to you? This increase was made possible by the Trusts recent sales of Pacific Gas & Electric stock. However, that tweaks failure to reduce the need of central bank intervention has left the BOJ with little appetite for more compromises. By our calculations, our attorneys for our PG&E Fire Victim Trust settlement were fairly compensated for the time they spent on our claims processing with the Trust. After Getting Burned By Wall Street, California Fire Victims Fight To Reclaim Their Power. At the time, before the vote of approval by the victims, several the victims lawyers concurred that it was a good deal and victims would be paid right away. https://santarosapressdemocrat-ca.newsmemory.com/?token=CRID_john.stalcup@sbcglobal.net_26654&message_id=22606q2IXHqZd6krXsywJL3uC1IEx3QU&utm_source=emailMarketing&utm_medium=email&utm_campaign=email+stats, (14) https://www.counties.org/sites/main/files/file-attachments/inverse_condemnation_fact_sheet_league__csac.pdf, (15) https://www.firevictimtrust.com/Docs/FAQs.pdf, (16) https://www.sfchronicle.com/business/article/PG-E-victims-lawyer-scrutinized-over-Wall-15241511.php#:~:text=San%20Antonio%20lawyer%20Mikal%20Watts,that%20became%20public%20days%20earlier, (17) https://krcrtv.com/north-coast-news/eureka-local-news/judge-refuses-to-approve-fire-victims-letter-attacking-pge-04-09-2020, (18) https://www.reinsurancene.ws/pge-pays-11bn-settlement-to-re-insurers-joins-wildfire-fund/, (19) https://www.firevictimtrust.com/Docs/Trustee_Response_to_5-28-22_Editorial.pdf, Ramona D. ElliotDirector, United States Trustee Program, https://www.kqed.org/news/11891626/hedge-funds-cash-out-billions-in-pge-stock-fire-survivors-suffer-and-wait, https://www.insurancejournal.com/news/west/2022/05/06/666497.htm, Https://Inthesetimes.Com/Article/California-Fire-Victims-Awaiting-Payment-from-Utility-Company, https://inthesetimes.com/article/california-fire-victims-awaiting-payment-from-utility-company, https://www.capradio.org/articles/2021/05/17/a-cascade-of-outrage-follows-investigation-into-pge-fire-victim-trust-expenses/, Https://Leginfo.Legislature.ca.Gov/Faces/billTextClient.Xhtml?bill_id=201920200AB1054, https://leginfo.legislature.ca.gov/faces/billTextClient.xhtml?bill_id=201920200AB1054, https://abc7news.com/pg-e-fire-victims-victim-trust-fund-ca-wildfire-not-paid-taxpayer/11593929/, https://www.kqed.org/news/11851347/pge-bankruptcy-yields-700-million-legal-fee-bonanza-for-wall-street-firms, Https://Www.Pbs.Org/Newshour/Show/Most-Fire-Victims-Are-Still-Waiting-to-Be-Paid-by-Pges-Fire-Victim-Fund-Investigation-Finds, https://www.pbs.org/newshour/show/most-fire-victims-are-still-waiting-to-be-paid-by-pges-fire-victim-fund-investigation-finds, https://www.sfchronicle.com/bayarea/article/They-need-help-now-In-Gold-Country-PG-E-16407001.php, https://santarosapressdemocrat-ca.newsmemory.com/?token=CRID_john.stalcup@sbcglobal.net_26654&message_id=22606q2IXHqZd6krXsywJL3uC1IEx3QU&utm_source=emailMarketing&utm_medium=email&utm_campaign=email+stats, https://www.counties.org/sites/main/files/file-attachments/inverse_condemnation_fact_sheet_league__csac.pdf, https://www.firevictimtrust.com/Docs/FAQs.pdf, https://www.sfchronicle.com/business/article/PG-E-victims-lawyer-scrutinized-over-Wall-15241511.php#:~:text=San%20Antonio%20lawyer%20Mikal%20Watts,that%20became%20public%20days%20earlier, https://krcrtv.com/north-coast-news/eureka-local-news/judge-refuses-to-approve-fire-victims-letter-attacking-pge-04-09-2020, https://www.reinsurancene.ws/pge-pays-11bn-settlement-to-re-insurers-joins-wildfire-fund/, https://www.firevictimtrust.com/Docs/Trustee_Response_to_5-28-22_Editorial.pdf. "Did they provide any explanation as to why it took them 5 months to get back to you," asked Woodrow? 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. Rick Silva has been with the Paradise Post since June 1994 as sports editor. Congressman LaMalfa says the IRS took 5 months to get back to lawmakers about how fire victims who received PG&E settlement money should file their taxes so they wouldn't overpay or underpay and be facing penalties or fines. This increase was made possible by the Trusts recent sales of Pacific Gas & Electric stock. PGE's bankruptcy workout plan to pay for victims' losses from the 2015, 2017 and 2018 Northern California wildfires was approved by California Gov. PGEs trust to pay wildfire victims is millions short; bill proposed would bail them out, but how? Closing this discount would more than double its $18 billion market capitalization. A. Less than 1% of all claims have been appealed. PGE stock is currently trading around $12 per share (currently a $1 billion loss to the victims' PGE shares) and it must trade at about $14.50-plus per share for the victims' stock value to equal $6.75 billion. So, if you receive $100,000 and give 25% to your attorney, you are still taxed on the full $100,000. (15). Justice John K. Trotter (Ret. Trotter also pointed out that the trust was facing tax issues, saying that the state and Federal Capital gains tax rate of more than a 40 percent capital gains tax on any profit above the $9 per stock price. The Trust issues Determination Notices daily and issues payments twice a month. And we certainly should not be asking them to pay taxes on funds that are going to their lawyers this would be double taxing the settlement dollars. "Down to about two feet of rubble," said Internicola. The trust owns about 24% of the companys It appears there are no age or competency requirements for retirement in the U.S. Bankruptcy Court system. Our work to process claims continues, and todays news is a sign of significant progress. Instead, all claims for fire-related damages will be incorporated into and resolved as part of the bankruptcy proceedings. Without all your input I have no idea how we could have recovered. Santa Rosa Press Democrat. The North Bay fires of 2017 alone claimed 44 lives, burned more than 200,000 acres and destroyed 5,300 homes in Napa, Sonoma, Lake, Mendocino and Solano counties. I have tried to work cooperatively with the Trustee while pressing for payments to be expedited with greater transparency and accountability, he said in the statement to this newspaper. (4,5,6,7,8). %%EOF And their fees are paid directly from PGE Fire Victim Trust funds designated primarily for the victims loss compensation from the PG&E settlement. Trotter, a retired California Appeals Court judge, charges $1,500 an hour, according to court filings, while claims administrator Cathy Yanni bills $1,250 an hour. See here for a complete list of exchanges and delays. Again, the majority of wildfire victims had been waiting 3 to 6 years (in our case 3 years) and his words fair settlement in a reasonable amount of time washed over us like a long-awaited shower after being stranded in the wildfire jungle for years. At the time of that delivery, the stock was trading at approximately $9 per share, he wrote. As of March 15, PG&E had paid out $3.04 billion in preliminary and pro-rata payments and awarded another $7.04 billion in determination notices. Primarily, those debts and liabilities relate to wildfire claims. He pointed out that more than 85% of the victims voted for the plan, and on July 1, 2020, when the utility emerged from bankruptcy, paid $6.75 billion in cash and delivered 478 million shares of PG&E stock to the trust. While the TCC acts in the collective interest of all tort claimants, the committee does not represent any individual homeowners, renters, businesses, or other wildfire victims in their damage claims against PG&E. This petition focuses on the victims of the Northern California wildfires between 2015 and 2018, including all wildfires in this period for which PGE was held legally responsible for victims losses in their 2019 U.S. Bankruptcy filing and proceedings and codified in their exit from their bankruptcy process, resulting in the creation of the PGE Fire Victim Trust. federal and state agency claims. Indie Pop Star Michelle Lambert Plays Market and Main in Martinez! "I think scheduling for committee time, floor time," said LaMalfa. Were not quite there yet, but getting closer! Insurance Journal. Republican Assembly Leader James Gallagher (R-Yuba City) said there had been many challenges with the trusts administration. Https://Inthesetimes.Com/Article/California-Fire-Victims-Awaiting-Payment-from-Utility-Company Retrieved June 5, 2022, from https://inthesetimes.com/article/california-fire-victims-awaiting-payment-from-utility-company, (11) Morris, J. M. (2021, August 23).
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