BAKER 

&

HOSTETLER LLP

ATTORNEYS AT LAW

SAN FRANCISCO

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Case: 19-30088 Doc# 2306-11 Filed: 05/31/19 Entered: 05/31/19 13:27:55 Page 1

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Robert A. Julian (SBN 99469) 

Cecily A. Dumas (SBN 111449) 

BAKER & HOSTETLER LLP 

1160 Battery Street, Suite 100 

San Francisco, CA 94111 

Telephone: 628.208.6434 

Facsimile: 310.820.8859 

Email: rjulian@bakerlaw.com 

Email: cdumas@bakerlaw.com 

Eric E. Sagerman (SBN 155496) 

Lauren T. Attard (SBN 320898) 

BAKER & HOSTETLER LLP 

11601 Wilshire Blvd., Suite 1400 

Los Angeles, CA 90025-0509 

Telephone: 310.442.8875 

Facsimile: 310.820.8859 

Email: esagerman@bakerlaw.com 

Email: lattard@bakerlaw.com 

Counsel for Official Committee of Tort Claimants 

UNITED STATES BANKRUPTCY COURT 

NORTHERN DISTRICT OF CALIFORNIA 

SAN FRANCISCO DIVISION 

In re: 

PG&E CORPORATION 

-andPACIFIC GAS AND ELECTRIC 

COMPANY, 

Debtors, 

□ Affects PG&E Corporation 

□ Affects Pacific Gas and Electric 

Company 

■ Affects both Debtors 

*All papers shall be filed in the Lead Case, 

No. 19-30088 (DM) 

Bankruptcy Case 

No. 19-30088 (DM) 

Chapter Number: 11 

(Lead Case) 

(Jointly Administered) 

DECLARATION OF JEFFREY R. DION IN 

SUPPORT OF OBJECTION OF THE 

OFFICIAL COMMITTEE OF TORT 

CLAIMANTS TO MOTION OF THE 

DEBTORS FOR ORDER (I) ESTABLISHING 

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 (DKT. NO. 1784)

Date: June 11, 2019 

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

Place: United States Bankruptcy Court 

 Courtroom 17, 16th Floor 

 San Francisco, CA 94102 

Objection Deadline: May 28, 2019 

Case: 19-30088 Doc# 2306-11 Filed: 05/31/19 Entered: 05/31/19 13:27:55 Page 2

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JEFFREY R. DION declares as follows under penalty of perjury: 

1. I am an attorney in good standing admitted to practice in the Commonwealth of 

Virginia, the United States District Court for the Eastern District of Virginia, the United States 

Court of Appeals for the Fourth Circuit, and the United States Supreme Court. I currently serve 

as Executive Director of the National Compassion Fund, a nonprofit organization dedicated to the 

collection and distribution of charitable donations to victims of mass casualty crimes. 

2. I have personal knowledge of the facts stated herein except as to matters where I 

indicate otherwise, and as to those matters, I believe them to be true. If called upon to testify, I 

could and would competently do so. I make this declaration in support of the Objection of the 

Official Committee of Tort Claimants (the “TCC”) to the Motion of the Debtors for an Order 

(i) Establishing 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 (Dkt. No. 1784) (the “Motion”). The TCC’s 

Objection is filed concurrently herewith. 

3. I have reviewed PG&E’s Motion proposing a bar date of September 16, 2019 for 

all Wildfire Claims, as well as the declarations submitted in support of the Motion. I have also 

reviewed the Motion of the Official Committee of Tort Claimants Pursuant to 11 U.S.C. 

§§ 105(a) and 501 and Fed. R. Bankr. P. 3001(a) for Entry of an Order Approving Proposed 

Model Proof of Claim Form for Fire Claims and Related Procedures (Dkt. No. 1824) (the “TCC’s 

Model Proof of Claim and Procedures”). 

4. The TCC sought my insight and opinions as to how to best implement an effective, 

efficient notice program with the objective of reaching as many Fire Claimants as possible to 

inform them of the bar date, the process for filing a proof of claim, and their rights in the 

Chapter 11 Cases. 

5. I have extensive experience in developing notice and outreach programs to contact 

and inform dispersed and displaced victims of mass disasters. This includes administration of 

relief funds for: (1) victims of nearly a dozen mass shooting events around the country; (2) the 

August 2017 car attack in Charlottesville, VA, following the “Unite the Right” rally; and 

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(3) conducting an outreach and awareness campaign to educate victims of the September 11, 2001 

terrorist attacks about their options to filing a civil lawsuit against their airlines or a claim with 

the federal government’s September 11th Victim Compensation Program. The September 11, 

2001 campaign consisted of dozens of forums throughout the United States and Canada, and 

directly served over 1,500 victims. My work on notice procedures, campaigns, and other 

outreach programs has involved mass disasters impacting more than 5,000 victims. 

6. Each of these relief or compensation funds involved a deadline by which victims 

were required to submit an application for benefits. For example, in the case of the September 

11th Fund, potential claimants had 27 months following the attacks to submit a claim to the 

program. Determining the appropriate claim submission deadline in a mass trauma context 

requires consideration of various factors, including the number of potential claimants, known 

identities and contact information for claimants, and the psychological trauma experienced by the 

class of applicants. 

7. Although fires have important categorical differences from mass shootings or 

terrorist attacks, they share common elements of trauma that have likely affected potential Fire 

Claimants here. Based on my understanding of the facts of this case, including media coverage of 

some of the harrowing accounts of individuals affected by the fires, I recognize many of the same 

traumatic experiences that occur in other mass casualty events: individuals fearful for their lives, 

fleeing from impending danger, uncertain whether they or their loved ones will make it out alive. 

These experiences can cause deep, long-lasting psychological trauma, and it is critical to 

recognize that fact when designing a compensation program and selecting an appropriate claim 

submission deadline. 

8. Based on my experiences described above (¶ 6), a person who experiences or 

witnesses a terrifying event may exhibit signs of traumatic stress which can be associated with 

impaired cognitive and memory functions of the brain. Consequently, individuals who survive a 

traumatic event where they were exposed to an imminent risk of death often have difficulty 

executing administrative functions. In my experience, traumatized individuals have significant 

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difficulty executing even basic administrative tasks, such as completing an application or 

remembering deadlines. 

9. In working with victims, I have observed that these effects can last for months or 

years after a traumatic event. I am aware from news coverage that many individuals affected by 

the fires at issue in this case continue to suffer from trauma-related mental health effects. For 

example, I am aware of the efforts of the Wildfire Mental Health Collaborative to provide support 

to individuals struggling with mental health issues following the 2017 North Bay Fires.1

10. I believe that the bar date proposed in PG&E’s Motion of September 16, 2019 is 

unrealistic in that it is will set too short a time period to provide effective notice to Fire 

Claimants. 

11. Given the logistical hurdles to reach potential Fire Claimants—many of whom I 

understand to have been displaced or relocated following the loss of their homes, and many who 

are likely still suffering the effects of psychological trauma—a longer effort is required to 

sufficiently communicate the information to this population and to allow them time to complete 

and submit the necessary claim forms. 

12. Based on the circumstances and given the notice plan set forth in the Declaration 

of Steven Weisbrot, I recommend a bar date of January 31, 2020. This bar date assumes that the 

Court adopts the TCC’s Model Proof of Claim and Procedures, as well as the TCC’s notice plan 

described in the Declaration of Steven Weisbrot. 

13. Pursuant to 28 U.S.C. § 1746, I declare under the penalty of perjury that the 

foregoing is true and correct to the best of my knowledge and belief. 

Dated: May 31, 2019 

By: ________________________ 

Name: Jeffrey R. Dion 

Title: Executive Director, National Compassion Fund 

 

1 See Matt Simon, WIRED, What One Devastated Community Can Teach The World About Mental Health (Oct. 8, 

2018), https://www.wired.com/story/wildfires-mental-health/; Martin Espinoza, Press Democrat, Psychological Scars 

from October Wildfires Cut Deep in Sonoma County (July 28, 2018), available at: 

https://www.pressdemocrat.com/news/8511629-181/psychological-scars-from-october-wildfires. 

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