Attorneys representing victims of the Eaton Fire sought an injunction against Southern California Edison on Tuesday, accusing the utility of failing to preserve evidence related to the fire.
The attorneys asked a judge for another temporary restraining order requiring Edison to preserve evidence. A previous order issued in late January has expired, and attorney Ali Moghaddas with the law firm Edelson PC claims the utility has since damaged or destroyed evidence by re-energizing lines in the fire area.
“Never once did they tell us or any other plaintiff counsel that they would be re-energizing those lines,” Moghaddas said. “If they did, that would immediately trigger alarm bells for us.”
Edison spokesperson Kathleen Dunleavy disputed that claim, calling it “flat-out false.”
“We notified them on January 17th about the fact that we would be re-energizing the lines,” she said.
The judge delayed issuing the new temporary restraining order, telling both sides to come back on Jan. 26 with an agreement on a new order that would include testing of the equipment in question.
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Edison’s equipment is accused of sparking the Eaton Fire in Altadena, which destroyed thousands of structures and killed 17 people. The official cause of the fire remains under investigation.
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