A total of 100 claims were filed against the state from victims in the Corral Canyon November fire. They most likely will go to court.
By Jonathan Friedman / Assistant Editor
Corral Fire victims and insurance companies have filed approximately $513.2 million worth of claims against the state, alleging that the California Department of Parks and Recreation was negligent because officials ignored years of reports about partying at the top of Corral Canyon and did not conduct proper brush clearance. But if the claimants are going to get any money, they will have to go to court. A state board last month rejected 56 of the claims. The remaining 44 will be heard later this month, and they, too, are expected be rejected.
The Corral Fire, Malibu’s worst since 1993, began after an illegal campfire in an area on State Parks property at the top of Corral Canyon, known as The Cave, got out of control.
The claims were heard by the Victims Compensation and Government Claims Board, a three-person committee consisting of State Controller John Chiang, Secretary of State and Consumer Services Agency Rosario Marin and San Bernardino County District Attorney Michael A. Ramos. Board spokesperson Miles Bristow said the rejections were not based on the substance of the claims.
“The grounds for all of those [rejections] boils down to the claims involved complex legal issues that are outside the purview of the board, and are more appropriately heard in court,” Bristow said. “This is routine for claims involving complex issues.”
Even though there was no chance the board would have approved the claims, the fire victims and insurance companies were required, by state law, to go through the claims process first.
Malibu attorney James Devitt, who is representing the fire victims, along with two other law firms, said he expected the claims to be rejected.
“We knew from the start that this case will probably be decided by the Court of Appeal,” Devitt said. “We’re looking at a three-year process.”
State Parks spokesperson Roy Stearns said this week he could not comment on the situation because he did not have enough information, and was not in his office. He said he would have more to say later this week once he spoke with the appropriate people.
Stearns told The Malibu Times late last year when Devitt began gathering clients for the claims, “Our feeling is that with the shortage of rangers that we have, our people did all they could under the circumstances to address these issues.”
Devitt first started looking for clients late last year. He has placed many advertisements in local newspapers and started a Web site devoted to the matter. The deadline to file claims was May 24, the six-month anniversary of the fire. The claims vary in dollar amount, with the largest, $350 million, filed by fashion designer Gene Ewing, who lost two Jackson Pollock paintings.
“I want people to know that there were more than houses lost,” Ewing said in a press release issued last month. “There were valuable, sentimental works of art that can never be replaced.”
The Corral Fire burned 4,900 acres and destroyed 53 homes, 37 vehicles and a mobile home. Another 45 structures, including 33 homes, were damaged. Six firefighters were injured, including one who received second-degree burns to the face.
Five suspects have been charged with two felonies related to the fire. With an added allegation of the fire starting during a governor-mandated state of emergency, the suspects could face mandatory state prison time if convicted. Although they have not denied their clients were at the campfire, their attorneys have said any wrongdoing committed was not a crime.
Three suspects pleaded not guilty in December and are scheduled to appear in Van Nuys Superior Court on Tuesday to set a date for a preliminary hearing to determine if there is enough evidence for a trial. The other two suspects have an arraignment hearing on July 11.