SCE settles lawsuits related to Thomas Fire, Montecito Mudslides

SANTA BARBARA, Calif. - Southern California Edison (SCE) announced a settlement agreement Thursday linked to the 2017 Thomas and Koenigstein Fires and the 2018 Montecito Mudslides with no admission of wrongdoing.

A press release put out by the utility giant included a statement by SCE’s parent company, Edison International, and its president and CEO, Pedro Pizarro.

“We are making significant progress toward resolving wildfire-related litigation,” Pizarro said. “The settlement announced today resolves all the subrogation claims in the pending 2017 Thomas and Koenigstein fires and January 2018 Montecito Mudslides litigation. In addition, while other claims and potential claims related to the 2017/2018 Wildfire/Mudslide Events remain, SCE has reached settlements with several hundred individual plaintiffs in litigation arising from these events. The company continues to explore reasonable settlement opportunities with other parties.” 

Southern California Edison statement

According to the release, plaintiffs associated with this particular settlement will receive $1.16 billion for claims based on payments they have already made to individual and business policyholders associated with the two wildfires and deadly debris flow.

SCE will pay additional amounts for claims arising from future payments that may be made to policyholders before July 15, 2023, up to an agreed-upon cap.

This settlement is separate from one reached in November 2019 with 23 “public entities” impacted by the same two fires and debris flow. 

To date, SCE's "best estimate" of total expected losses for the 2017/2018 Wildfire/Mudslide Events litigation is $6.2 billion. That amount is $1.3 billion more than previous estimates.

SCE expects remaining losses to amount to roughly $4.6 billion.

To read the press release in its entirety, click here.