Southern California Edison and another company could be heading for a February 2013 trial to determine if they will be required to pay $74 million in fines relating to the 2007 Malibu Canyon wildfire, according to court documents released Tuesday.
“It appears that the evidentiary hearings will start in mid to late February,” Administrative Law Judge Timothy Kenney said Tuesday morning in San Francisco at a pre-trial conference attended by attorneys for the companies and the state’s consumer protection agency.
Kenney scheduled the trial to take place over 20 days, according to a transcript of the meeting obtained by The Malibu Times.
The 2007 fire destroyed 14 buildings, including the Malibu Presbyterian Church, injured three firefighters and caused central Malibu to be evacuated for three days. It began when three power poles alongside Malibu Canyon Road snapped during high Santa Ana winds and ignited nearby brush.
Investigators for the California Public Utilities Commission’s (CPUC) Consumer Protection and Safety Division allege that at least one of the poles that fell was illegally overloaded with telecommunications equipment. Edison is also accused of misleading investigators surrounding the circumstances of the cause of the fire.
Edison faces the brunt of the potential fines at a proposed $49 million. NextG, which was bought by Crown Communications in December 2011, faces a proposed $25 million fine. Both companies deny the charges.
Three other cellphone companies agreed to a $12 million settlement with the CPUC in September.
Before announcing the tentative trial date, Kenney urged both the state and the companies’ attorneys to settle.
“Each party faces a well-prepared adversary,” Kenney said. “A settlement may prove a better outcome than litigation, while also avoiding much of the time and expense and risk of continued litigation in this proceeding.”
Public Utilities Commissioner Timothy Alan Simon said it would be better for both sides to settle. But noting that it had been five years since the 2007 fire, he made a bold promise that a judgment on the damages would be finished within one year.
“Time is growing short,” Simon said. “Whatever path the parties choose, settlement or litigation, I intend to wrap up this proceeding before the sixth anniversary of the fire.”
Also present was Hans Laetz, a local activist who has been granted citizen-intervenor status in the investigation. Laetz said it appears the trial will take place in San Francisco.