Orange County is bracing for a potential wave of litigation from victims of the airport fire, a destructive blaze started by a public works crew that destroyed more than 160 structures.
On Tuesday, the Orange County Board of Supervisors voted unanimously to retain the law firm Meyers Nave to assist the county in litigation related to the fire.
According to public records, four claims for reimbursement of expenses such as property destroyed and hotel costs during the evacuation orders have already been filed with the county.
Attorney Emily Pincin told the Times that she and her business partner Michael Kent are coordinating with several other law firms to file a class action lawsuit, potentially representing more than 1,000 victims, within the next six months. A class action lawsuit involves separate lawsuits against a single defendant.
Pincin says the county could be held financially liable for damaged property, lost personal items, moving expenses and emotional distress.
Orange County Solicitor Leon Page declined to comment to The Times on the county’s responsibility for the fire, which Orange County fire officials said was started by two public works workers using heavy equipment to move boulders on Trabuco Creek Road. Authorities called the cause “unintentional.”
The revelation sparked an outcry, with people wondering why workers were bringing heavy machinery into dry brush on a sweltering day.
Steve Palmer, a retired Orange County firefighter, told the OC Register the decision was “reckless and stupid.”
“It’s a triple-digit storm and you’re going to use big steel equipment to hit the rocks?” he said. “That always causes sparks. Who wouldn’t know that or assume that?”
Gregory Keating, a professor at USC Gould School of Law, told the Times that “there is reason to expect substantial liability” if the county is unable to fend off charges of negligence in starting the fire.
“It could actually be quite costly,” he said. “It could also be complex because many of these properties are likely insured, and the litigation could get tangled up in claims by insurance companies seeking to recover payments they made under their insurance policies.”
According to Keating, the “basic rule” of negligence is that liability requires proof of physical harm, meaning bodily injury or property damage. As a result, it can be difficult for victims to obtain compensation from the county for purely economic loss or pure emotional distress.
For example, a local business owner might not be compensated for economic loss due to customers staying away during the fire if his store was not physically damaged.
However, if people can prove physical harm, even minor ones like smoke damage, then the county may be liable for their other losses, he added.
The fire started on September 9 and has burned about 22,000 acres, injured 22 people and destroyed more than 100 homes in Orange and Riverside counties, according to fire officials. The fire was 95 percent contained as of Wednesday morning.
The four claims received so far by the county were submitted independently of any coordinated legal effort.
Mikhail Trubik filed a $2.34 million claim for his home, guesthouse and five-car garage, all of which were destroyed in the fire.
The other three claimants submitted claims ranging from $833 to $1,121 to cover hotel and meal expenses during the mandatory evacuation orders. Claims for personal injury or property damage must be filed within six months of the date of the loss, according to state law.
The county also received at least two notice of claim letters from law firms as of Sept. 20 requesting that evidence related to the fire be preserved, according to the county clerk.
