LOS ANGELES — Lawsuits involving Southern California Edison (SCE) and the Thomas and Woolsey fires are on hold due to COVID-19, a spokesperson for the company said.
"We’re at a little bit of a standstill given the court situation and the guidelines we’ve been issued by the state," SCE Spokesperson Robert Laffoon-Villegas said in an interview with the Southern California Record. "We believe it’s necessary for the health of everyone involved to postpone those in-person meetings, including depositions."
Laffoon-Villegas said the company had considered doing virtual depositions but did not believe that virtual was a good fit for a matter as important as this one.
"We have some technical and due process considerations when it comes to that," Laffoon-Villegas said.
Despite the pandemic and stay-at-home orders issued in the state, SCE has been working to address the matters involved in the case while courts are closed, he said.
"When possible, we have continued to engage in the discovery process and work on pretrial issues with plaintiffs in both matters," Laffoon-Villegas said. "In light of the continuing spread and growing threat of COVID-19 and the guidelines from our national, state and local officials, as well as orders continuing civil court operations and suspending trials, SCE believes it is necessary for the health of all involved to postpone any in-person meetings, including depositions, until it is safe again to do so."
VC Star reported that jury selection for the first trial was set for June 1 and arguments were set June 15, but because of the delay, those dates will likely be pushed back.
The cases involve two fires, one in December 2017 and the other in 2018, that the plaintiffs claim SCE's equipment played a part in. The Ventura County Fire Department found that the utility company's powerlines were to blame for both fires, but SCE argues that while its equipment was most likely partially to blame for the Thomas fire, it was not to blame for the Woolsey, the news agency reported.