Closing this discount would more than double its $18 billion market capitalization. ABC7News. After any disputes over the value of claims are resolved, the appropriate amount will be designated for the compensation of wildfire claims and placed into a trust as part of PG&Es Chapter 11 reorganization plan (or, financial restructuring). All Rights Reserved. That is stinging traders who bet the central bank would be forced to widen a 10-year government bonds trading band again, having expanded it to 0.50% from 0.25% in December under market pressure. The industry leader for online information for tax, accounting and finance professionals. He said their first task was to design a system that allowed 70,000 fire victims to make claims, which he said took time to create and make it capable of receiving and reviewing more than 250,000 unique claims. Since then Trotter said they have received more than 19,000 personal injury claims and more than 400 death claims. Legislators have presented a bipartisan bill that would exempt federal taxes on the money survivors get from the Wildfire Victim Trust Fund. Thank you @GavinNewsom for the appointment of #NancyWard. The trust initially received around 480 million shares at $9 each. The news that PG&E agreed to a $13.5 billion fire settlement with lawyers for victims means that plaintiffs are a step closer to getting compensated. Because of errors in the setup of how the trust was established, the tax issue was left unresolved, he said, triggering unnecessary delays that hindered victim compensation. Now valued at over $10 each, Trotter says the difference could be taxed around 45%, meaning more money This includes filing and arguing motions before the court, negotiating with the debtor and other stakeholders for the fair compensation of claims, and opposing or supporting any reorganization plan that would permit PG&E to terminate bankruptcy. 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.. 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. And Trustee Trotter, in his not-so-infinite wisdom, has already sold 100 million shares of the victims PGE stock at $12.04 per share for a $212 million loss. Accordingly, if you or a loved one experienced personal injury, property loss, business losses, or other damages, you should consult a lawyer in a timely manner. Instead he chose to take a huge loss for us. - The company filed for bankruptcy in January 2019 following a series of wildfires in 2015, 2017 and 2018. 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 The notices, which continue to go out on a daily basis, indicate the total monetary value assigned to all of a Fire Victims claims. Attorneys for the fire victims negotiated the deal on behalf of survivors, and it was funded half with cash and half with foundering PG&E stock. The payments average approximately $13,000. Landslide Debris Cancels ACE Train Service Through Niles Canyon, Water Agencies Seek Solution to Unhoused Residents Living in Creek Beds, Man Accused in Wife's Murder Made Shocking Google Searches in Days After Her Disappearance, Michigan Family Gets Life in Prison for Killing Family Dollar Guard Over Face Mask Dispute, SF Residents Give City Officials Earful About Increase in Crime, Decrease in Quality of Life, Rain Wednesday Will Add to Historic Wet Period in Bay Area. As part of a settlement, the Fire Victim Trust received half of an expected $13.5 billion payout in stock and the rest in cash. Newsom approved, is and continues to be a tragic outcome for the PG&E wildfire victims. Broadly, the process involves the following steps: With support from the Governors office and the California legislature, PG&E is expected to emerge from bankruptcy under a reorganization plan in secure (or investable) financial condition. On the surface, that has potential to be a good thing. Your attorney will continue to represent you throughout the remainder of the proceedings until your case is resolved. California Senator Dianne Feinstein introduced companion legislation in the Senate. Then I could go deeper based on what I read. Any sale, disposition or other transaction involving the Trusts shares follow strict guidelines as outlined in filings with the U.S. Bankruptcy Court and the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund had been criticized by fire victims, who complained about slow processing times and administrative costs taken out of the settlement. 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. 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. 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 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. Get a confidential review of your case at no cost. This petition originates from one familys continued trials and tribulations with The Biggest Victim Economy Ever Created: The 2020 PG&E Fire Victim Trust, which was setup to fail the victims by bankruptcy Judge Dennis Montali and continues to treat them unfairly, despite Montalis promise to pay the victims quickly and fairly. 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. Indie Pop Star Michelle Lambert Plays Market and Main in Martinez! As noted, Judge Montali is also an octogenarian at 81 years of age and was recently appointed again for another 14-year term as a U.S. bankruptcy judge in April of 2021, meaning hell be 95 when this term of service expires. The Butte Fire, North Bay Fires and Camp Fire burned 400,000 acres, destroying 10s of thousands of homes and other structures. Https://Leginfo.Legislature.ca.Gov/Faces/billTextClient.Xhtml?bill_id=201920200AB1054 Retrieved June 5, 2022, from https://leginfo.legislature.ca.gov/faces/billTextClient.xhtml?bill_id=201920200AB1054, (6) Woodrow, M. W. (2022, February 23). All rights reserved. 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). And their fees are paid directly from PGE Fire Victim Trust funds designated primarily for the victims loss compensation from the PG&E settlement. Today @GavinNewsom announced Nancy Ward as the next Director of Cal OES. A. Director Ward is one of the nations foremost emergency managers with broad experience working at @DHSgov @fema @FEMARegion9 as well as Cal OES. Sound rich to you? (1,2) Instead, the facts show that payments to victims have been pro rata at 45% of victims' losses, and again, this is 45% of a 60% average settlement offer (and 33%-plus of this goes to the victims attorneys fees and costs). Sign up for free Patch newsletters and alerts. 115 0 obj <> endobj Why? KQED. Retrieved June 5, 2022, from https://www.sfchronicle.com/bayarea/article/They-need-help-now-In-Gold-Country-PG-E-16407001.php, (12) Andrew Graham. - The Dixie Fire is now the second biggest wildfire since 1932, according to the California Department of Forestry and Fire Protection. Access unmatched financial data, news and content in a highly-customised workflow experience on desktop, web and mobile. 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. While you may submit a claim on your own, we highly recommend consulting an attorney before submitting a claim form and electing to represent yourself in a complex bankruptcy matter. NEW YORK, Aug 11 (Reuters Breakingviews) - An experiment in compensating disaster victims with corporate stock has not gone well. Without all your input I have no idea how we could have recovered. In the first pro rata payment, each claimant will receive 30% of the value assigned to their claims. 2023 United Policyholders The material on this site is for informational purposes only and is not a substitute for legal advice. The trust owns about 24% of the companys shares, worth around $4 billion. This time period may be shorter than the statute of limitations that might otherwise apply in the civil court. On September 29th, Governor Gavin Newsom signed a bill which will make PG&E wildfire victims' settlement payments state tax-free, but as of right now fire victims must still pay federal taxes on the award money. (2020, December 19). Hedge Funds Cash Out Billions in PG&E Stock. Read the responses, , the Trust sent letters in support of H.R. After Getting Burned By Wall Street, California Fire Victims Fight To Reclaim Their Power. If PG&E performed well, so would they. Accordingly, it is important to understand the full scope of your legal damages, how to properly document your losses, how to complete the claim form process, and how to ensure a fair amount is allocated to your claim. Here's a low/no cost preparedness step that's easy on your budget and time #readyoakland #energysavingtip , Insurance bailout fund crippled by lawsuits, claims as Louisiana policyholders wait for relief https://www.nola.com/news/insurance-bailout-fund-crippled-by-lawsuits-claims-as-louisiana-policyholders-wait-for-relief/article_1bd8be08-7d79-11ed-a34d-a3d14a027624.html?utm_medium=social&utm_source=twitter&utm_campaign=user-share via @nolanews, After more than a decade serving as Director of @Cal_OES I am super excited to hand over leadership to an exceptional emergency manager, leader & public safety professional. The Claims Resolution Procedures approved in PG&Es bankruptcy cases require the Trust to issue a single Determination Notice that includes all claims in each Claims Questionnaire. Legislation could make PG&E settlement money for CA wildfire victims tax-free from the federal government, but the bill is stuck in Congress. RELATED: Fire Victim Trust answers questions about $51 million spent as CA wildfire victims await payments. We are looking for a Governor to vote for that can help us get "fair" compensation as promised by PGE bankruptcy Judge Dennis Montali. 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Trust announced the sale of 60 million shares of PG&E stock, resolution of the 10th Trotter, who has faced increased criticism in the last six months, including a letter from the Butte County Board of Supervisors asking for more transparency, said at the end of his letter to victims that the decision to resign before the end of July was an effort to keep a promise to his family that he would retire after just two years on the job. Im 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. On January 9 and 10, 2023, FVT sold 60 million shares of PG&E stock. Meanwhile, the Trust disbursed just $7 million. Butte County survivors similarly filed lawsuits following the 2018 Camp Fire, with a motion to coordinate those cases still pending at the time PG&E initiated bankruptcy proceedings. (12) The victims' owned about 24% of the stock in PGE. He noted that the bankruptcy court created two pots of money, one for the insurance companies and another for fire victims, including federal and state agency claimants. (2019, July 12). 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. Never pay out-of-pocket fees or expenses. "We remain right on the exact same spot with the identical house we replaced," said Internicola. They should not have to pay taxes on these payouts. We will continue to move diligently on behalf of the fire victims to attain the highest level of compensation permitted under the Bankruptcy Court orders and the governing Trust documents., Copyright 2023 NBCUniversal Media, LLC. The PGE Fire Victim Trust was created by Judge Dennis Montali to manage the adjudication and distribution of the wildfire victims' $13.5 billion settlement from PGE that was awarded to the victims' by the U.S. Bankruptcy Court. California Governor's Office of Emergency Services, Christopher and Urmila - 2017 Tubbs Fire Victims, FEMA can help California communities recover under the Stafford Act, Home insurance availability, affordability AND quality is shrinking: States and the Feds must coordinate and take action to protect homeownership in the US. Representatives for the Fire Victim Trust declined to be interviewed. An annual report filed in federal bankruptcy court last week by its trustee, John Trotter, reported $38. 7 million spent on financial professionals, claims administrators, consultants and other operating expenses between July 1 and the end of 2020. When recently challenged by a letter from the Butte County Board of Supervisor's who presented legitimate questions about the pace and process of the Trust's claims processing, the thin-skinned Trustee refused to respond to the Supervisors and called them "you people" "politicians" with "uninformed, slanderous conclusions". Newson, just approved two new rate hikes to PG&E customers (including all PG&E victim customers) totaling a 23% increase to rate payers effective March 2022. He said the trust had begun to make partial payments to about 9,500 of the 67,170 victims. the press release here. The Un-Trustworthy PG&E Fire Victim Trust (PVT). Copyright 2023 KGO-TV. For many Fire Victims, the pro rata payment will not mark the first time they have received compensation from the FVT. As part of a settlement, the Fire Victim Trust received half of an expected $13.5 billion payout in stock and the rest in cash. Were making every effort to keep Fire Victims and their attorneys apprised of our progress each step of the way. The Bank of Japan (BOJ) made no adjustments to its yield-curve control (YCC) policy that keeps interest rates ultra-low on Wednesday. Most fire victims are still waiting to be paid by PG&Es Fire Victim Fund, investigation finds. I am proud to introduce this bill alongside Rep. [Doug] LaMalfa to help our constituents receive the money they are owed, and will continue working to ensure survivors have the resources they need to recover from these tragedies.". (8), In fact, the funds earmarked for wildfire disaster victims have first, quickly and more than fairly gone to the unwieldy and ineffectively operated PG&E Fire Victim Trust bureaucracy, (with excessive fees paid to the Trust managers and consultants); to the insurance companies that received full reimbursement of their homeowner insurance subrogation claim payments, and; complete payouts and large stock bonuses to the Hedge Funds for accepting the bad (half-stock) deal they all agreed to offer to the wildfire victims. Furthermore, Gov. iv. At this time, the court has not yet issued a claims Bar Date (the deadline for submitting claims), nor has the court approved an official claim form for wildfire losses. Build the strongest argument relying on authoritative content, attorney-editor expertise, and industry defining technology. San Francisco, CA 94104, 2023 | ATTORNEY ADVERTISING MATERIAL | Privacy Policy & Disclaimer | Sitemap. (4), And the legions of lawyers and consultants from the Greenberg law firm in North Carolina (who Trustee Trotter hired) are surely making handsome consulting fees, though the Trustee keeps these fees close to his chest wonder why? And these payments have been neither quickly nor fairly paid to victims contrary to Judge Montalis promise to victims. (2021, June 25). In the meantime, between attorney's fees and taxes, fire victims are watching what settlement payments they do receive get smaller, along with their dreams of rebuilding anytime soon. 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 is different from a class action lawsuit. (2021, October 11). Congressman LaMalfa says that gives them through the end of the year to get the legislation passed. Your attorney will prepare the necessary information about your case and file a proof of claim on your behalf in the PG&E bankruptcy court. We have a trustee who is making $150,000 a month, a top claims administrator is making $1,250 an hour. 7305 to amend IRS Code of 1986 for certain fire survivors' claimants. The victims approval of the bankruptcy deal ($13.5 half in cash and half in PG&E stock) which by itself was unprecedented, that is, that victims would have to take a stock from its defendant for half of their settlement. Happy New Year. 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