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#71005575_v2 1

DECLARATION OF LEAH E. CAPRITTA IN SUPPORT 

OF MOTION FOR RELIEF FROM AUTOMATIC STAY NO. 19-30089 (DM) 

HOLLAND & KNIGHT LLP 

Thomas D. Leland (pro hac vice) 

Leah E. Capritta (pro hac vice) 

1801 California Street, Suite 5000 

Denver, CO 80202 

Telephone: (303) 974-6660 

Facsimile: (303) 974-6659 

Email: thomas.leland@hklaw.com 

 leah.capritta@hklaw.com 

HOLLAND & KNIGHT LLP 

Vince Farhat (SBN 183794) 

400 South Hope Street, 8th Floor 

Los Angeles, CA 90071 

Telephone: (213) 896-2400 

Facsimile: (213) 896-2450 

Email: vince.farhat@hklaw.com 

 

Attorneys for 

TIGER NATURAL GAS, INC. 

UNITED STATES BANKRUPTCY COURT 

NORTHERN DISTRICT OF CALIFORNIA 

SAN FRANCISCO DIVISION 

In re

PACIFIC GAS AND ELECTRIC 

COMPANY, 

 Debtor. 

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CASE NO. 19-30089 (DM)

Chapter 11 

DECLARATION OF LEAH E. 

CAPRITTA IN SUPPORT OF TIGER 

NATURAL GAS INC.’S MOTION FOR 

RELIEF FROM THE AUTOMATIC 

STAY

Date: November 13, 2019 

Time: 10:00 AM 

Judge: Hon. Dennis Montali 

Ctrm: 17 

Case: 19-30088 Doc# 4322-2 Filed: 10/18/19 Entered: 10/18/19 18:29:08 Page 1

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#71005575_v2 2

DECLARATION OF LEAH E. CAPRITTA IN SUPPORT 

OF MOTION FOR RELIEF FROM AUTOMATIC STAY NO. 19-30089 (DM) 

DECLARATION OF LEAH E. CAPRITTA 

I, Leah E. Capritta, declare as follows: 

1. I am over the age of 18 and have personal knowledge of the matters stated 

herein. I am an attorney at law licensed to practice in the State of Colorado and admitted pro hac 

vice to practice before this Court. I am a partner at the law firm of Holland & Knight LLP and 

am counsel for Tiger Natural Gas, Inc. (“Tiger”). I make this declaration in support of Tiger’s 

Motion for Relief from the Automatic Stay. I have personal knowledge of the facts set forth 

below, and if called and sworn as a witness, I could and would testify competently thereto. 

2. On November 18, 2016, Tiger filed a lawsuit against Debtor PG&E in the 

United States District Court for the Northern District of California in connection with PG&E’s 

fraudulent and deceptive behavior in acting as Tiger’s billing and collection agent in the case 

styled Tiger Natural Gas, Inc. v. Pacific Gas and Electric Company, et al., Case No. 4:16-CV06711 (JSW) (the “District Court Case”). 

3. Judge Jeffrey S. White presides over the District Court Case. 

4. The District Court Case presents complicated fact patterns over several 

different divisions within Debtor PG&E, a series of complex business torts, and a rubric of 

procedural and discovery wrangling. 

5. The parties deposed nine individuals (in addition to the 23 depositions 

taken in a similar lawsuit initiated by United Energy Trading, LLC) and exchanged hundreds of 

thousands pages of documents. 

6. In addition, the parties analyzed millions of transactions from tens of 

thousands of accounts from PG&E’s CC&B system, itself a remarkably complex program. 

7. The parties engaged forensic accounting experts and economists. 

8. In addition, the District Court presided over several discovery issues 

involving apparent errors and inconsistencies in the CC&B system. 

9. On July 31, 2018, Magistrate Judge Sallie Kim ordered PG&E to review a 

series of pre-selected accounts and provide a “person most knowledgeable” to testify regarding 

the transactions. 

Case: 19-30088 Doc# 4322-2 Filed: 10/18/19 Entered: 10/18/19 18:29:08 Page 2

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#71005575_v2 3

DECLARATION OF LEAH E. CAPRITTA IN SUPPORT 

OF MOTION FOR RELIEF FROM AUTOMATIC STAY NO. 19-30089 (DM) 

10. In the course of prepping its witness, on September 17, 2018, PG&E 

acknowledged that “certain financial transactions” were missing from all of the CC&B data. 

11. On October 15, 2018, the Court ordered PG&E to permit a forensic expert 

to examine CC&B. 

12. When PG&E curtailed that examination, the Court again ordered two 

additional days of forensic review, which the parties scheduled to occur on January 28 and 29, 

2019.1 

13. While the parties completed the first day, PG&E filed the instant petition 

early in the morning on January 29, 2019, preventing the second day of examination. 

14. As the foregoing shows, the course of discovery before the District Court 

reflects a complicated background. 

15. The interplay between the regulatory environment and the legal 

framework for many of the business torts alleged in the complaint create additional complexity. 

16. The California Public Utilities Commission regulated both the CTAs and 

PG&E and issued decisions at various times on which both parties rely for their legal positions. 

17. The District Court, accordingly, acquired an expertise in these 

complicated issues. 

18. Except for the foregoing forensic examination, fact discovery closed on 

December 21, 2018. 

19. Expert discovery would have closed on May 6, 2019. 

20. Finally, the Court set September 16, 2019, as the first day of trial. 

21. On January 29, 2019, the Debtor filed the instant Chapter 11 Petition as 

Case No. 19-30088 (DM). (Dkt. 1.) At the time of this bankruptcy filing, the following matters 

pended before the District Court: 

a. Dispositive motions deadline on June 21, 2019; 

b. Daubert motions deadline on August 2, 2019; 

c. Parties’ Pre-Trial Conference set for August 19, 2019; 

 

1

 On January 17, 2019, PG&E moved to stay the examination entirely, which the Court denied. 

Case: 19-30088 Doc# 4322-2 Filed: 10/18/19 Entered: 10/18/19 18:29:08 Page 3

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#71005575_v2 4

DECLARATION OF LEAH E. CAPRITTA IN SUPPORT 

OF MOTION FOR RELIEF FROM AUTOMATIC STAY NO. 19-30089 (DM) 

d. Motions in Limine; and 

e. Trial set for September 16, 2019. 

22. On February 27, 2019, the District Court stayed the case in its entirety while 

PG&E worked its way through the reorganization process. 

23. Given the complex nature of the torts alleged, Tiger’s claims remain unliquidated. 

24. Tiger had not yet disclosed the findings of its damages experts; however, given 

the on-going nature of PG&E’s actions, that sum has only increased. 

25. In addition, because PG&E’s actions are both fraudulent and intentional, the 

possibility of exemplary damages and an award of fees and costs exists. 

26. Attached to this declaration are true and correct copies of the following pleadings 

filed with the District Court: 

Exhibit 1: Tiger’s Complaint; 

Exhibit 2: Minute Entry Regarding Initial Case Management Conference; 

Exhibit 3: Order Denying Defendant’s Motion for Temporary Stay or Extension of Time to 

 Complete Limited Discovery; 

Exhibit 4: Order on Discovery Dispute Regarding Requests for Production of Documents; 

Exhibit 5: Order Granting Motion to Extend Fact Discovery Deadline; 

Exhibit 6: Order Regarding Discovery Dispute; and 

Exhibit 7: Case docket. 

I declare under penalty of perjury under the laws of the United States of America that the 

foregoing is true and correct. 

DATED: October 18, 2019 HOLLAND & KNIGHT LLP 

By: /s/ Leah E. Capritta 

 Leah E. Capritta 

 Attorneys for Tiger Natural Gas, Inc.

Case: 19-30088 Doc# 4322-2 Filed: 10/18/19 Entered: 10/18/19 18:29:08 Page 4

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#71005575_v2 5

DECLARATION OF LEAH E. CAPRITTA IN SUPPORT NO. 19-30089 (DM) Case: 19-30088 Doc# 4322-2 Filed: 10/18/19 Entered: 10/18/19 18:29:08 Page 5 OF MOTION FOR RELIEF FROM AUTOMATIC STAY of 5