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12805.0007/15160013.1

DUANE M. GECK (State Bar No. 114823)

dmg@severson.com

DONALD H. CRAM (State Bar No. 160004)

dhc@severson.com

BERNARD J. KORNBERG (State Bar No. 252006)

bjk@severson.com

SEVERSON & WERSON

A Professional Corporation

One Embarcadero Center, Suite 2600

San Francisco, California 94111

Telephone: (415) 398-3344

Facsimile: (415) 956-0439

Attorneys for Great Lakes Insurance SE and 

Certain Interested Underwriters at Lloyd’s, 

London subscribing to Apollo Liability 

Consortium 9984

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 Company

☐Affects Pacific Gas and Electric Company

☒Affects both Debtors

Case No. 19-30088 

Chapter 11

(Lead Case)

(Jointly Administered with Case No. 19-

30089)

JOINDER OF CERTAIN INSURERS OF 

DEBTOR IN RESPONSE OF 

GOVERNMENT ENTITIES TO COURT’S 

MEMORANDUM REGARDING 

CONFIRMATION ISSUES, AND 

RESERVATIONS OF RIGHTS

Date: December 17, 2019

Time: 10:00 a.m.

Ctrm: 17

Judge: The Honorable Dennis Montali

Great Lakes Insurance SE, Koeniginstr. 107, 80802 Munich, Germany acting through its 

branch office in the United Kingdom at Plantation Place, 30 Fenchurch Street, London, EC3M 

3AJ and Certain Interested Underwriters at Lloyd’s, London subscribing to Apollo Liability 

Consortium 9984 (“Insurers”), hereby join the Statement Of The United States Of America In 

Case: 19-30088 Doc# 5130 Filed: 12/16/19 Entered: 12/16/19 11:51:52 Page 1 of

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12805.0007/15160013.1

Response To The Court’s Memorandum Regarding Confirmation Issues [Dkt. #5087] and 

Statement of the California State Agencies In Response To The Court’s Memorandum Regarding 

Confirmation Issues [Dkt. #5104], as set forth below.

The Insurers both insure PG&E Corporation (“Debtor”) under separate policies (the 

“Policy” or “Policies”). Each Policy provides that the Insurers will reimburse Debtor for any 

liability, in excess and up to certain defined limits, for personal injury or property damages 

incurred between February 1, 2016 and August 1, 2017. The Policies cover the time period for the 

Ghost Ship Fire. 

Each Policy is subject to numerous insurer rights and conditions. These rights and 

conditions include, but are not limited to, (i) a right to associate in and control any defense in an 

action which involves a claim likely to involve the Policy; (ii) a right to be furnished information 

by the Debtor regarding any claim against the Policy; and (iii) a prohibition against assignment of 

interest in the Policy without the consent of the Insurer. 

Further, each Policy is for Reimbursement only. The Insurers have no obligation to make 

payment under each Policy unless a claim is litigated to judgment against the Debtor after trial or a 

settlement is entered into which is approved by the Insurer and Debtor has paid the judgment or 

settlement amount. 

In Debtor’s original and first amended Chapter 11 plan, the claims arising out of the Ghost 

Ship Fire were treated as a separate, unimpaired class of claims from wildfire claimants. See First 

Amended Chapter 11 Plan, p. 33 [Dkt. #3966]. Under the prior plans, “each holder of a HoldCo 

Ghost Ship Fire Claim shall be entitled to pursue its Claim against Reorganized HoldCo as if the 

Chapter 11 Cases had not commenced.” First Amended Chapter 11 Plan, p. 36 [Dkt. #3966]. 

Non-subrogation wildfire claimants, on the other hand, were to be paid through a capped trust via 

a channeling injunction. First Amended Chapter 11 Plan, p. 36 [Dkt. #3966]. As the Ghost Ship

Fire claims were unimpaired in the original and first amended plan, the plan provisions did not 

conflict with any of terms of the Policy.

On December 12, 2019, Debtor filed its Second Amended Chapter 11 plan. This plan 

treats the Ghost Ship Fire claims very differently from the prior versions of the plan. Under the 

Case: 19-30088 Doc# 5130 Filed: 12/16/19 Entered: 12/16/19 11:51:52 Page 2 of

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12805.0007/15160013.1

Second Amended Plan, wildfire claims and Ghost Ship Fire claims are both considered “Fire 

Victim Claims.” See Second Amended Plan, §§ 1.74-1.75, 1.82 [Dkt. 5101]. Fire Victim Claims 

are treated as a single class of claims to be paid through a Fire Victim capped trust via a 

channeling injunction (the “Fire Victim Trust”). Second Amended Plan, §4.19 [Dkt. 5101]. The 

Fire Victim Trust will be funded, in part, by “assignment of rights . . . under the 2015 and 2016 

Insurance Policies to resolve any claims related to Fires in those policy years.” Second Amended 

Plan, §1.6 [Dkt. 5101]. Prosecution and liquidation of claims against the Fire Victim Trust will be 

done by a trustee, who shall act “in accordance with the terms of the Plan and the Fire Victim 

Trust Agreement.” Second Amended Plan, § 6.8(a) [Dkt. 5101]. The Fire Victim Trust 

Agreement is not yet on file. Because Debtor has failed to set forth any of the procedures, 

guidelines, and other terms that the Fire Victim Trust must follow, the Insurers are unable to 

assess at this time whether the proposed Second Amended Chapter 11 Plan breaches the terms of 

the Policies.

Debtor has stated that it will not file the relevant supplements to the Second Amended 

Chapter 11 Plan, including the very material Fire Victim Trust Agreement, until 14 days before 

the deadline to object to confirmation of the Chapter 11 plan. Second Amended Plan, § 1.142 

[Dkt. 5101 

Accordingly, the Insurers joins in the request of the United States of America and the 

California State Agencies that Debtor file a full and complete plan, with all supplements and other 

material terms, no later than 30 days before the last date to object to plan confirmation. At that 

time, the Insurers will be able to assess the effect of the proposed Chapter 11 plan and determine if 

the provisions violate their rights under the Policies. The Insurers reserve all rights to object to 

any plan provision until that time.

Case: 19-30088 Doc# 5130 Filed: 12/16/19 Entered: 12/16/19 11:51:52 Page 3 of

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12805.0007/15160013.1

DATED: December 16, 2019 SEVERSON & WERSON

A Professional Corporation

By: /s/ Bernard J. Kornberg

Bernard J. Kornberg

Attorneys for Great Lakes Insurance SE and Certain 

Interested Underwriters at Lloyd’s, London subscribing 

to Apollo Liability Consortium 9984

Case: 19-30088 Doc# 5130 Filed: 12/16/19 Entered: 12/16/19 11:51:52 Page 4 of

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PROOF OF SERVICE

At the time of service, I was over 18 years of age and not a party to this action. I am 

employed in the County of San Francisco, State of California. My business address is One 

Embarcadero Center, Suite 2600, San Francisco, CA 94111.

On December 16, 2019, I served true copies of the following document(s):

JOINDER OF CERTAIN INSURERS OF DEBTOR IN RESPONSE OF 

GOVERNMENT ENTITIES TO COURT’S MEMORANDUM REGARDING 

CONFIRMATION ISSUES, AND RESERVATIONS OF RIGHTS

on the interested parties in this action as follows:

BY CM/ECF NOTICE OF ELECTRONIC FILING: I electronically filed the 

document(s) with the Clerk of the Court by using the CM/ECF system. Participants in the case 

who are registered CM/ECF users will be served by the CM/ECF system. Participants in the case 

who are not registered CM/ECF users will be served by mail or by other means permitted by the 

court rules.

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

foregoing is true and correct. I declare that I am employed in the office of a member of the bar of 

this Court at whose direction the service was made.

Executed on December 16, 2019, at San Francisco, California.

/s/ Bernard J. Kornberg

Bernard J. Kornberg

Case: 19-30088 Doc# 5130 Filed: 12/16/19 Entered: 12/16/19 11:51:52 Page 5 of

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