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PIERCE BAINBRIDGE BECK PRICE & 

HECHT LLP 

John M. Pierce (SBN 250443) 

jpierce@piercebainbridge.com 

Thomas D. Warren (SBN 160921) 

twarren@piercebainbridge.com 

355 South Grand Avenue, Suite 4400 

Los Angeles, California 90071 

(213) 262-9333 

LANDAU GOTTFRIED & BERGER LLP 

Michael I. Gottfried (SBN 146689) 

mgottfried@lgbfirm.com 

Roye Zur (SBN 273875) 

rzur@lgbfirm.com 

1880 Century Park East, Suite 1101 

Los Angeles, California 90067 

Tel: (310) 557-0050 

Fax: (310) 557-0056 

Attorneys for Interested Parties 

UNITED STATES BANKRUPTCY COURT 

 NORTHERN DISTRICT OF CALIFORNIA 

SAN FRANCISCO DIVISION 

In re 

PG&E CORPORATION, 

and 

PACIFIC GAS & ELECTRIC COMPANY, 

Debtors. 

 Case No. 19-30088 (Jointly Administered) 

Chapter 11 

RESPONSE TO DEBTORS’ MOTION 

PURSUANT TO 11 U.S.C. §§ 105(a) AND 

363(b) AND FED. R. BANKR. P. 2002 

AND 6004(h) FOR AN ORDER (A) 

AUTHORIZING DEBTORS TO 

ESTABLISH AND FUND PROGRAM 

TO ASSIST WILDFIRE CLAIMANTS 

WITH ALTERNATIVE LIVING 

EXPENSES AND OTHER URGENT 

NEEDS AND (B) GRANTING RELATED 

RELIEF (“WILDFIRE ASSISTANCE 

PROGRAM MOTION”) 

Hearing Date and Time: 

Date: May 22, 2019 

Time: 9:30 a.m. (Pacific Time) 

Place: Courtroom 17 

 450 Golden Gate Ave., 16th Floor 

 San Francisco, CA 

Affects: 

 PG&E Corporation 

 Pacific Gas & Electric Company 

 Both Debtors 

Case: 19-30088 Doc# 2011 Filed: 05/15/19 Entered: 05/15/19 15:06:52 Page 1 of

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1 

Interested Parties David Herndon, Julia Herndon, Gabriell Herndon, Jedidiah Herndon, 

Estefania Miranda, Steven Jones, Gabriella’s Eatery, Chico Rent-a-Fence, and Ponderosa Pest & 

Weed Control respectfully submit this response to the Motion Pursuant to 11 U.S.C. §§ 105(a) and 

363(b) and Fed. R. Bankr. P. 2002 and 6004(b) For an Order (A) Authorizing Debtors to Establish 

and Fund Program to Assist Wildfire Claimants With Alternative Living Expenses and Other Urgent 

Needs and (B) Granting Related Relief (the “Motion,” ECF No. 1777) brought by PG&E 

Corporation and Pacific Gas & Electric Company (collectively the “Debtors”), and in support 

thereof, represent as follows: 

The Interested Parties are not opposed to the Motion generally, 1 and applaud the Debtors for 

seeking to assist those most in need of aid due to the 2017 and 2018 Wildfires.2

 Rather, the Interested 

Parties object only to the extent necessary to make clear that any distributions made to Wildfire 

Claimants for covered expenses cannot later be held back or set off from otherwise valid claims 

except to the extent that the distributions and claims actually cover the same expenses. In other 

words, PG&E should not be able to deduct amounts paid through the Wildfire Fund, which are 

intended to compensate for “Alternative Living Expenses or other urgent needs” (id. at 4), from 

amounts due for the reconstruction of housing or similar expenses stemming from the 2017 and 

2018 Wildfires. Indeed, allowing PG&E to offset these “urgent needs” funds from other types of 

liabilities could have the perverse effect of limiting the total recovery available to the Wildfire 

Claimants, as the Debtors expect that the Emergency Fund might in some aspects be duplicative of 

funds otherwise available to claimants through the Federal Emergency Management Agency. See 

id. at 5. 

 

1

 While Debtors insist that they are not admitting liability by seeking the Emergency Fund, the Motion appears, at 

least tacitly, to be an admission of such liability. Indeed, the Debtors’ suggestion that they are not liable to the 

Wildfire Claimants appears inconsistent with the business judgment standard necessary for the establishment of the 

Emergency Fund. See, e.g., In re W.J. Bradley Mortg. Capital, LLC, 598 B.R. 150, 175 (Bankr. D. Del. 2019) 

(explaining that “[c]orporate waste exists where the consideration received for a transfer of corporate assets is so 

deficient that no reasonable person could conclude the transfer serves a corporate purpose”) (emphasis added). 

Notwithstanding the inconsistency, the Interested Parties believe that the relief requested is appropriate, and that 

Debtors ultimately will be found liable for damages that are well in excess of the Emergency Fund. 

2

 Capitalized terms not defined herein shall having the meaning ascribed to them in the Motion and Proposed Order.

Case: 19-30088 Doc# 2011 Filed: 05/15/19 Entered: 05/15/19 15:06:52 Page 2 of

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 2 

Accordingly, the Interested Parties propose that the below language be added to the Debtors’ 

Proposed Order (ECF No. 1777 Ex. A): 

12. Nothing in this Order or the Motion is intended to be or shall be construed as granting 

the Debtors the right to offset or otherwise hold back amounts distributed through the Emergency 

Fund from amounts due and owing pursuant to claims stemming from the 2017 and 2018 Wildfires, 

except to the extent that the amounts due and owing are compensation for the same expenses claimed 

through the Emergency Fund. 

For the reasons state above, the Interested Parties request that the Court grant Debtors’ 

Motion subject to the addition of the above text to the Proposed Order or to entry of an Order 

addressing the points raised by the Interested Parties herein. 

[Signatures to Follow] 

 

Case: 19-30088 Doc# 2011 Filed: 05/15/19 Entered: 05/15/19 15:06:52 Page 3 of

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 3 

Dated: May 15, 2019 

 Los Angeles, CA 

 /s/ Thomas D. Warren 

Thomas D. Warren 

PIERCE BAINBRIDGE BECK PRICE & HECHT LLP 

John M. Pierce (SBN 250443) 

jpierce@piercebainbridge.com 

Thomas D. Warren (SBN 160921) 

twarren@piercebainbridge.com 

Carolynn K. Beck (SBN 264703) 

cbeck@piercebainbridge.com 

Janine Cohen (SBN 203881) 

jcohen@piercebainbridge.com 

355 South Grand Avenue, Suite 4400 

Los Angeles, California 90071 

(213) 262-9333 

Deborah Renner (pro hac requested) 

drenner@piercebainbridge.com 

Claiborne Hane (pro hac requested) 

chane@piercebainbridge.com 

Michael Eggenberger (pro hac requested) 

meggenberger@piercebainbridge.com 

20 West 23rd Street, Fifth Floor 

New York, New York 10010 

(212) 484-9866 

-and- 

 /s/ Michael I. Gottfried 

Michael I. Gottfried 

LANDAU GOTTFRIED & BERGER LLP 

Michael Gottfried (SBN 146689) 

mgottfried@lgbfirm.com 

Roye Zur (SBN 273875) 

rzur@lgbfirm.com 

1880 Century Park East, Suite 1101 

Los Angeles, CA 90067 

(310) 557-0050 

 Attorneys for Interested Parties 

Case: 19-30088 Doc# 2011 Filed: 05/15/19 Entered: 05/15/19 15:06:52 Page 4 of

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