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1740214.1 

Elizabeth J. Cabraser (SBN 083151)

Robert J. Nelson (SBN 132797) 

Lexi J. Hazam (SBN 224457) 

Fabrice N. Vincent (SBN 160780) 

Abby R. Wolf (SBN 313049) 

Evan J. Ballan (SBN 318649) 

LIEFF CABRASER HEIMANN & 

BERNSTEIN, LLP 

275 Battery Street, 29th Floor 

San Francisco, California 94111 

Tel: 415.956.1000 

Fax: 415.956.1008 

Rafey S. Balabanian (SBN 315962) 

Todd Logan (SBN 305912) 

J. Aaron Lawson (SBN 319306) 

Lily Hough (SBN 315277) 

EDELSON PC

123 Townsend Street, Suite 100 

San Francisco, California 94107 

Tel: 415.234.5342 

Fax: 415.373.9495 

Attorneys for Plaintiffs 

Francis O. Scarpulla (SBN 41059) 

Patrick B. Clayton (SBN 240191) 

LAW OFFICES OF FRANCIS O. 

SCARPULLA 

456 Montgomery Street, 17th Floor 

San Francisco, CA 94104 

Tel: 415.788.7210 

Fax: 415.788.0706 

UNITED STATES DISTRICT COURT 

NORTHERN DISTRICT OF CALIFORNIA 

SAN FRANCISCO DIVISION 

In re 

PG&E CORPORATION, 

 -andPACIFIC GAS & ELECTRIC COMPANY, 

Debtors. 

□ Affects PG&E Corporation 

□ Affects Pacific Gas and Electric Company 

■ Affects both Debtors 

Case No. 19-30088 

(Jointly Administered) 

Chapter 11 

LIMITED JOINDER OF 

WILDFIRE CLASS 

CLAIMANTS TO OBJECTION 

OF CERTAIN INTERESTED 

PARTIES TO DEBTORS’ BAR 

DATE MOTION 

Date: June 26, 2019 

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

Place: U.S. Bankruptcy Court 

Courtroom 17, 16th Floor 

San Francisco, CA 94102 

Case: 19-30088 Doc# 2739 Filed: 06/24/19 Entered: 06/24/19 17:36:18 Page 1 of

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Creditors Kevin Burnett, Leslie Moore, Darwin Crabtree, Sandra Crabtree, Joseph 

Garfield, Robert Eldridge, Benjamin Greenwald d/b/a Greenwald Pest Defense, individually and 

on behalf of all others similarly situated; Lore Olds d/b/a Sky Vineyards, Skyla Olds, Nancy 

Hitchcock, Herman Bossano, Rebecca Bailey, Ph.D. d/b/a It’s Mine Don’t Touch Trust and 

Transitioning Families, and Charles Holmes, individually and on behalf of all others similarly 

situated; Jeanette Smylie, individually and on behalf of all others similarly situated; and GER 

Hospitality, LLC, individually and on behalf of all others similarly situated; William N. Steel, 

individually and on behalf of all others similarly situated; and Karen Roberds and Anita 

Freeman, individually and on behalf of all others similarly situated (collectively, “Wildfire Class 

Claimants”) hereby join Argument Section III (titled “The Debtors Seek to Prematurely and 

Improperly Eviscerate Class Protections That Might Otherwise Protect Wildfire Claimants”) of 

the Objection to Motion of Debtors Pursuant to 11 U.S.C. §§ 502(b)(9) and 105(a), Fed. R. 

Bankr. P. 2002, 2003(c)(3), 5005, and 9007, and L.B.R. 3003-1 for Order (i) Establishing Filing 

Deadline for Filing Proofs of Claim, (ii) Establishing the Form and Manner of Notice Thereof, 

and (iii) Approving Procedures for Providing Notice of Bar Date and Other Information to All 

Creditors and Potential Creditors (the “Objection”) filed by David Herndon, Julia Herndon, 

Gabriell Herndon, Jedidiah Herndon, Estefania Miranda, Steven Jones, Gabriella’s Eatery, Chico 

Rent-a-Fence, and Ponderosa Pest & Weed Control (collectively, “Objectors”) [Dkt. No. 2240], 

and state as follows. 

Limited Joinder 

Wildfire Class Claimants are individuals and businesses who suffered financial and/or 

property damage as a result of wildfires caused by the Debtors’ failing and improperly maintained 

electrical equipment, including the 2017 North Bay Fires and the 2018 Camp Fire. Before the 

Debtors filed for bankruptcy, Wildfire Class Claimants filed class action lawsuits against the 

Debtors in state court, seeking to recover damages on behalf of themselves and others harmed by 

the wildfires. When the Debtors filed bankruptcy, their state court proceedings were stayed 

pursuant to 11 U.S.C. § 362. In order to preserve their claims, Wildfire Class Claimants filed 

proofs of claim in the bankruptcy proceedings shortly after Debtors commenced their filing. 

Case: 19-30088 Doc# 2739 Filed: 06/24/19 Entered: 06/24/19 17:36:18 Page 2 of

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1740214.1 - 3 - 

Wildfire Class Claimants are therefore “creditors” within the meaning of the Bankruptcy Code, 

11 U.S.C. § 101(10), and this Court has jurisdiction over their claims. 28 U.S.C. § 1334(a). 

Wildfire Class Claimants have filed a total of six proofs of claim in this proceeding on 

behalf of putative classes of individuals and businesses harmed by the 2017 North Bay and 2018 

Camp Fires. In fact, their proofs of claim are among the first lodged in the bankruptcy case’s 

claims register. See Northern District of California Claims Register, No. 19-30088 PG&E 

Corporation, Claim Nos. 1-1 (Kevin Burnett et al.), 2-1 (Lore Olds, d/b/a Sky Vineyards et al.), 

3-1 (Jeanette Smylie), 4-2 (GER Hospitality, LLC), 6-2 (William N. Steel), 8-2 (Karen Roberds 

and Anita Freeman). Each proof of claim incorporated and attached a copy of the prepetition class 

action complaint that had been filed in state court before the automatic stay took effect. 

In the Objection, Objectors express their concern that certain language contained in 

Debtors’ Bar Date Motion and Proposed Order represent an attempt to “preempt the use of class 

proofs of claim” and, if included in the Court’s ultimate order, risk “having the practical effect of 

barring class proofs of claim in this bankruptcy.” Objection at 12-13. Wildfire Class Claimants 

believe the Court will preserve the possibility of using class proofs of claim at an appropriate 

time. Nevertheless, out of an abundance of caution and to avoid leaving the matter unaddressed, 

Wildfire Class Claimants join that portion of the Objection and respectfully request that the Court 

not issue an order at this time that would limit possible future use of class mechanisms. 

As the Ninth Circuit has recognized, the bankruptcy code permits the use of class proofs 

of claim. In re Birting Fisheries, Inc., 92 F.3d 939 (9th Cir. 1996). The tort claims of those 

impacted by the 2017 North Bay and 2018 Camp Wildfires represent a substantial component of 

this bankruptcy, involving as many as tens or hundreds of thousands of claimants who have 

collectively suffered tens of billions of dollars in damages. Reaching those claimants, enabling 

them to engage with the claim submission process, and ultimately resolving their claims will be a 

substantial undertaking, and is one that is in its relatively early stages. Today, there are pending 

motions to adopt a proof of claim form, set a bar date, and implement a notice plan to reach 

potential claimants and inform them of their rights. There is no way to know at this time how 

many of those affected by the wildfires will ultimately submit proofs of claim before the bar date, 

Case: 19-30088 Doc# 2739 Filed: 06/24/19 Entered: 06/24/19 17:36:18 Page 3 of

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or what the total value of submitted claims will be. The usefulness and appropriateness of the 

class proofs of claims in this case may well depend on answers to these and other questions, and 

the Court need not decide whether to allow class proofs of claim to proceed while all those 

variables remain unknown. Additionally, the question of whether to allow the use of class proofs 

of claim has not yet been properly presented to the Court and is not ripe for adjudication. If and 

when the issue arises, Wildfire Class Claimants would like the opportunity to fully brief and be 

heard on it. 

Conclusion 

Accordingly, Wildfire Class Claimants submit this limited joinder and respectfully request 

that the Court refrain from issuing a decision at this juncture that would limit the possible use of 

class proofs of claim at an appropriate future time in the bankruptcy proceedings. 

Respectfully submitted, 

Dated: June 24, 2019 

By: /s/ Elizabeth J. Cabraser________ 

Elizabeth J. Cabraser (SBN 083151) 

Robert J. Nelson (SBN 132797) 

Lexi J. Hazam (SBN 224457) 

Fabrice N. Vincent (SBN 160780) 

Abby R. Wolf (SBN 313049) 

Evan J. Ballan (SBN 318649) 

Lieff Cabraser Heimann & Bernstein, LLP 

275 Battery Street, 29th Floor 

San Francisco, CA 94111 

Telephone: 415.956.1000 

Facsimile: 415.956.1008 

Counsel for Creditors Kevin Burnett, Leslie 

Moore, Darwin Crabtree, Sandra Crabtree, 

Joseph Garfield, Robert Eldridge, Benjamin 

Greenwald d/b/a Greenwald Pest Defense; 

Lore Olds d/b/a Sky Vineyards, Skyla Olds, 

Nancy Hitchcock, Herman Bossano, Rebecca 

Bailey, Ph.D. d/b/a It’s Mine Don’t Touch 

Trust and Transitioning Families, and Charles 

Holmes.

By: /s/ Rafey S. Balabanian______ 

Rafey S. Balabanian (SBN 315962) 

Todd Logan (SBN 305912) 

J. Aaron Lawson (SBN 319306) 

Lily Hough (SBN 315277) 

EDELSON PC 

123 Townsend Street, Suite 100 

San Francisco, California 94107 

Telephone: 415.234.5342 

Facsimile: 415.373.9495 

Counsel for Creditors Kevin Burnett, 

Leslie Moore, Darwin Crabtree, Sandra 

Crabtree, Joseph Garfield, Robert 

Eldridge, and Benjamin Greenwald d/b/a 

Greenwald Pest Defense. 

Case: 19-30088 Doc# 2739 Filed: 06/24/19 Entered: 06/24/19 17:36:18 Page 4 of

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1740214.1 - 5 - 

Francis O. Scarpulla (SBN 41059)

Patrick B. Clayton (SBN 240191) 

Law Offices of Francis O. Scarpulla 

456 Montgomery Street, 17th Floor 

San Francisco, CA 94104 

Telephone: 415.788.7210 

Facsimile: 415.788.0706 

Counsel for Creditors Jeanette Smylie, GER 

Hospitality, LLC, William N. Steel, Karen 

Roberds, and Anita Freeman. 

Jeremiah F. Hallisey (SBN 40001)

Hallisey and Johnson, PC 

465 California Street, Suite 405 

San Francisco, CA 94104-1812 

Telephone : (415) 433-5300 

Counsel for Creditors Jeanette Smylie, 

GER Hospitality, LLC, William N. Steel, 

Karen Roberds, and Anita Freeman. 

Quentin L. Kopp (SBN_25070)

380 West Portal Ave. 

San Francisco, CA 94127 

Telephone: (415) 681-5555 

Counsel for Creditors Jeanette Smylie, GER 

Hospitality, LLC, William N. Steel, Karen 

Roberds, and Anita Freeman. 

 

Case: 19-30088 Doc# 2739 Filed: 06/24/19 Entered: 06/24/19 17:36:18 Page 5 of

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SIGNATURE ATTESTION 

 I hereby attest that I have on file all holographic signatures corresponding to any 

signatures indicated by a conformed signature (/s/) within this e-filed document. 

__ 

 /s/ Elizabeth J. Cabraser_________________ 

Case: 19-30088 Doc# 2739 Filed: 06/24/19 Entered: 06/24/19 17:36:18 Page 6 of

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