A judge on Tuesday ordered Southern California Edison to preserve data, equipment and evidence related to the deadly Eaton Fire, a decision that has brought charges against the giant utility company for allegedly starting the fire at the base of a power transmission tower. It was praised by lawyers.
The ruling, issued Tuesday morning by L.A. Superior Court Judge Ashfaq G. Chaudhry, grants a temporary restraining order requested by attorneys for an Altadena woman who is currently suing her utility company after a fire destroyed her home. Approved.
In their claim, the lawyers feared that Edison would hide evidence related to the fire and asked the court to intervene and order the evidence to be preserved.
Investigators with the California Department of Forestry and Fire Protection are focusing their search on a hillside in Eaton Canyon and the base of an electric tower in Edison, where residents saw the first blaze of the devastating fire. This ruling is important because the incident was videotaped. The fire started on January 7th.
Lawyers from the firm of Ederson PC argued in the motion that Edison could destroy equipment and evidence if the lawyers were not able to quickly identify “each piece of evidence that must be preserved.”
A spokesperson for the power company did not respond to a request for comment.
Lawyers for Southern California Edison opposed the temporary restraining order in a court filing, arguing that the company was complying with requests to preserve evidence. They say Edison preserved equipment in a 1-square-mile area east of Altadena and near the likely ignition point in Eaton Canyon, documented equipment repairs and replacements in the area, and took videos and photos. He said he was filming.
Edison has documented repair and replacement work outside of its “protected areas,” but court filings say that is not necessary because the county and investigators looking into the cause of the fire have not indicated that is necessary. He argued that there was no need to do so.
“The county has no interest in SCE’s distribution facility located anywhere in Altadena,” one court filing states. “SCE goes above and beyond its preservation obligations. SCE does not modify or remove equipment within the County’s Reserve Area of Origin.”
The judge’s ruling ordered Edison to consult with the lawyers suing the company to determine the exact boundaries of the area in which evidence should be preserved.
Lawyers suing Edison argued in a request for a judge’s intervention that the utility had destroyed equipment and evidence in the past when electrical equipment was suspected of causing destructive fires.
“Utility companies have a troubling history of using chaos during and after major fires to destroy or tamper with critical evidence,” Edelson PC attorney Ali Mogadas said in an email. said. “Today’s court order sends a clear message that that will not happen here.”
The Eaton Fire burned more than 14,000 acres, destroyed 9,416 buildings, and killed at least 17 people.
According to court filings, the companies were not allowed access to the scene where the fire was believed to have started until Jan. 16, when the lawyers who sued the companies and investigators hired by those companies accompanied me.
Last week, residents and homeowners began filing a lawsuit against Southern California Edison, claiming there was evidence to suggest the fire started in electrical equipment.
At least 20 lawsuits have been filed against Edison related to the Eaton fire, according to court filings.
Fire authorities have not announced the official cause of the fire, and Edison officials said data shows no abnormalities in the area where the fire appears to have started.
The judge’s order also requires Edison to turn over data about its transmission towers to its lawyers.
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