Director Ward is one of the nations foremost emergency managers with broad experience working at @DHSgov @fema @FEMARegion9 as well as Cal OES. 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. So far, he has lost over $212 million dollars selling the victims stock and pays everyone on his Trust team exorbitant salaries and fees. Our Standards: The Thomson Reuters Trust Principles. 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. PG&E wildfire victims will soon be able to get a larger share of what is owed to them, thanks to a recent influx of $1 billion into the victim compensation trust fund, according to trust officials. (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. So, 85% of the wildfire victims voted to accept the only deal offered. (1), The insurance companies and city and county governments also were paid in full over nine months ago for claims they paid to victims (subrogation reimbursements $11 billion and government claims of $2 billion, respectively), and the victims lawyers started reaping their full fees and costs as victims settlement determinations started trickling in nine months ago. PGE Fire Victim Trust (Well-Paid) Bureaucracy, At the top of the fee food-chain heap is, of course, the Fire Victim Trust managers (i.e., the Trustee (John Trotter), the Manager (Cindy Yanni), and the Special Master (Ellen Sickle James) who are reported to earn make $125,000, $200,000 and $176,000 per month, respectively. Instead, all claims for fire-related damages will be incorporated into and resolved as part of the bankruptcy proceedings. 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. And, to date 35% of the 68,870 of the wildfire victims still wait for what bankruptcy Judge Dennis Montali proclaimed would be quick and fair settlement payments to all victims. It is an important development for fire survivors, and I share the. And, Trustee Trotter, 86 when he was appointed by Judge Montali is now 88 draws a salary of $125,000 per month as the Trustee. Bipartisan legislation could make that money tax-free from the federal government -- but the bill is stuck in Congress. The material on this site is for informational purposes only and is not a substitute for legal advice. Once they were able to resolve that issue with help of its lawyers, Brown Rudnick, the trust was able to gain another $100 million by having to avoid that capital gains tax, Trotter said. A total of 71,394 Fire Victims filed claims by the February 26, 2021, deadline. 1 Sansome Street, Ste 2830 PARADISE, Calif. - There is a new 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. %PDF-1.6 % - The company filed for bankruptcy in January 2019 following a series of wildfires in 2015, 2017 and 2018. Also, the trust gained another $480 million through the sale of 40 million shares of PG&E stock. The House and Senate will be in session in mid-November. 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. These include the more comprehensive data now available to the Trust as more and more fire victims claims are filed and analyzed.. On June 28th, the Commissioner of the IRS responded to a request by Congressman Mike Thompson and Congressman Doug LaMalfa requesting guidance on the taxability of the settlement funds received from the Fire Victims Trust (FVT). "What's the biggest hold up here," asked ABC7 News I-Team Reporter Melanie Woodrow. "Did they provide any explanation as to why it took them 5 months to get back to you," asked Woodrow? They do not reflect the views of Reuters News, which, under the Trust Principles, is committed to integrity, independence, and freedom from bias. Officials for the trust declined to provide KQED with a list of companies it is working with and what it has paid them. PG&E was forced into bankruptcy after its equipment sparked the Camp Fire that killed at least 85 people and nearly wiped out the Northern California town of Paradise. 7305 to amend IRS Code of 1986 for certain fire survivors' claimants. The trust, which he took over two years ago, was funded with $13.5 billion, half in cash and half in the PG&E common stock. Trust announced the sale of 60 million shares of PG&E stock, resolution of the 10th (2019, July 12). 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 Fires and the 2018 Camp Fire. The trust initially received around 480 million shares at $9 each. The legislation would exempt wildfire payouts from income taxes and would allow attorney fees and court costs to be deducted from taxes, right now they are not. 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. RELATED: Fire Victim Trust answers questions about $51 million spent as CA wildfire victims await payments. Trotters response to the Butte County Board of Supervisors letter was to leave a voicemail criticizing the board. "All legislation that is not passed and signed does lapse as of January 2nd so we would put that bill right out on January 3rd as soon as the swearing in is over with and get going again because our constituents have waited long enough," said LaMalfa. In April 2002, he was named Managing Editor. 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. However, the 68,870 wildfire victims (approximately 250,000 people) have been short-changed and slow-paid pennies on the dollar and were required to take one half of their settlement in PGE stock. (14), The PGE Bankruptcy Court settlement, which Governor Newsom approved, favors and fully compensates everyone except the wildfire victims. There are a number of bankruptcy attorneys and financial advisers San Francisco, CA Cathy Yanni, Trustee of the Fire Victim Trust (FVT), announced a pro rata payment increase from 45 percent to 60 percent effective January 31, 2023. Well, when the Trusts oversight committee is a group of nine of the victims attorneys, who, as mentioned, promoted the PGE bankruptcy settlement and were eager to get their fees paid, why not turn a blind eye toward the excessive fees and salaries for the Trustee and his managers and consultants. PGE stock is currently trading around $12 per share (currently a $1 billion loss to the victims' PGE shares) and it must trade at about $14.50-plus per share for the victims' stock value to equal $6.75 billion. Newsom arbitrarily approved their safety rating while they continue to start fires and the California Public Utilities Commission (CPUC), also appointed by Gov. 4955). Sign up for free Patch newsletters and alerts. hb```e"B eap@a~il=6Q,NwkGFGRWTl%Xl) c$sAf>OL2aT`fafa? 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As you know, you approved Judge Montali's settlement plan which does not compensate us fairly. 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. They need help now: In Gold Country, PG&E fire victims have waited 6 years for payment. So, out of the gate our settlement went from $13.5 billion to $12 billion, and today the stock is about $1.1 billion underwater and victims have experienced a $212 million dollar loss in their Trust funds because Trustee Trotter chose to sell 100 million of victims' shares at $12.04 per share. 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. California Senator Dianne Feinstein introduced companion legislation in the Senate. At that time, 476,995,175 shares of common stock were transferred to the Trust. "I think scheduling for committee time, floor time," said LaMalfa. Review our firm's. I think that is a positive for the trust and the fire victims, Crowder said on Wednesday afternoon. In that rubble Internicola says he found the only item that survived, a ring his father gave him. You brought an important and unique perspective to the hearing, that of homeowners themselves., Whenever I felt confused about any topic I first looked it up in the yellow book. PGE's bankruptcy workout plan to pay for victims' losses from the 2015, 2017 and 2018 Northern California wildfires was approved by California Gov. The company may have to spend $20 billion burying power lines, and while it might like to pass those costs on to customers, its rates are already among the highest in the nation. At the time of that delivery, the stock was trading at approximately $9 per share, he wrote. In the first pro rata payment, each claimant will receive 30% of the value assigned to their claims. hbbd```b``3@$SXd:L|:TJ D2E,yd2c4(SGX&>`YZL L`]df|0 ` 141 0 obj <>/Filter/FlateDecode/ID[<5282CBEF541C3F44B3C7ABABD9F0131F><7AF137A6936E014296BF315C2A3AFEF3>]/Index[115 39]/Info 114 0 R/Length 117/Prev 236867/Root 116 0 R/Size 154/Type/XRef/W[1 3 1]>>stream (9) The deal was forged by this cast of players, i.e., Judge Montali, the Hedge Fund managers, the PG&E and Victims attorneys, and other large creditors and received the stamp-of-approval by Gov. And all of the victim attorneys (with just a couple of exceptions) said at the time that this was the best deal the victims could probably get, and if we rejected it, PG&E could file for Chapter 7 and we could lose almost everything and it could take years for that to happen. 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. and the Claims Administrator Cathy Yanni, the Fire Victim Trust provides an efficient and equitable process to compensate Fire Victims for both economic and non-economic damages caused by these fires, including destruction or damage to real estate and personal property, additional living expenses, lost wages, business losses, emotional distress, personal injury and death. There are eight categories of claims types. Less than 1% of all claims have been appealed. . 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 If you have a claim for fire-related damages, you are considered an unsecured creditor of PG&E for purposes of the bankruptcy process. {-k3}- &l=g`ns u' 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. More fires are a virtual certainty. As of a week ago, the trustee had paid $4.05 billion to more than 46,000 victims. KQED analyzed federal bankruptcy court filings, court transcripts and correspondence between victims and staff of the Fire Victim Trust. Retrieved June 5, 2022, from https://www.capradio.org/articles/2021/05/17/a-cascade-of-outrage-follows-investigation-into-pge-fire-victim-trust-expenses/, (5) California Legislative Information. I have heard firsthand the concerns survivors have faced when navigating the ambiguous tax code. He leaves his leadership at the Trust at the end of June 2022. 7305 to amend IRS Code of 1986 for certain fire survivors' claimants. 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. If a Disaster Declaration is issued, it can be either a Emergency Declaration (to supplement state, local, and tribal government efforts to provide debris removal and emergency protective measures or to lessen/avert, Need a last minute holiday gift? While Gallagher has said that he isnt supportive of taxpayers picking up the bill on the shortfall, he wants to see his legislation passed exempting settlement payments from state income taxes, which he says is one of his highest priorities. I recommend them without reservation., We cannot thank you enough for all your support, education and assistance through our recovery from the 2017 Tubbs Fire. So, if you receive $100,000 and give 25% to your attorney, you are still taxed on the full $100,000. If he or Ms. Yanni (his replacement appointed solely by Trustee Trotter) sells the remaining 377 million of the victims shares for the same loss, victims stand to lose over $1.1 billion of their $13.5 billion settlement, perhaps much more. 52. Who may act as Legal Representative for a Minor Claimant, and what Fire Victims may accept this initial determination or may request additional review and submit supplemental claim materials as part of the Reconsideration and Appeals processes. 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