The City of Malibu will be given $13.7 million from Southern California Edison (SCE) as part of a $360 million settlement the utility reached with 23 public entities resulting from fires and other disasters in 2017 and 2018. The announcement was made by the city on Wednesday afternoon, Nov. 13.
The entities include victims of the Woolsey Fire as well as the 2017 Thomas and Koenigstein fires and the 2018 Montecito Debris Flows.
“Malibu experienced one of the worst disasters in the city’s history and suffered millions of dollars in taxpayer losses from the Woolsey Fire,” Mayor Karen Farrer said in a statement provided by the city. “This settlement will help the city continue to provide services to the community and keep moving forward with our recovery.”
According to information from the city, damages caused to the city by the fire included “lost taxpayer resources such as lost revenues, lost property, increased expenditures and lost community assets such as environmental and recreational resources as well as government infrastructure.”
Malibu was represented in the mediation by City Attorney Christi Hogin and another lawyer from her firm, John Natalizio from Best, Best and Krieger, as well as outside counsel, Baron & Budd attorneys Scott Summy, John Fiske, Torri Sherlin, and Stephen Johnston.
According to the city, the settlement resolves legal damages asserted by the City of Malibu but does not affect other claims from private citizens or businesses.
The settlement funds will be paid in December of this year.
Look for a longer story in next week’s print edition of The Malibu Times.