4 ms·

> That said, if it were proven that PG&E were directly liable for this fire, how would that play out? As it always plays out: regular people will only sue via

by _pmf_ 8y ago

> That said, if it were proven that PG&E were directly liable for this fire, how would that play out? As it always plays out: regular people will only sue via class action lawsuit, meaning there will be a settlement that is a fraction of the damage. The lawsuit with the state as plaintiff will drag on until either a settlement or the statute of limitation is reached.

sjroot 8y ago
That’s the answer I expected but didn’t want to see.
dragonwriter 8y ago
> As it always plays out: regular people will only sue via class action lawsuit, meaning there will be a settlement that is a fraction of the damage. Businesses and individuals (and public agencies like cities, counties, and special districts) with losses, especially of structures, will in many cases be insured; direct action lawsuits, or the threat thereof, to force a substantially full settlement, to recover from liable parties are a big part of what insurance companies do, and the nature of insurance companies is that each will have much larger losses than any individual, and much more motivation to aggressively pursue them; there may still be settlements that are less than would be recovered in a final judgement (to the extent that time value of money and risk and reduced litigation costs make that a winning proposition), but nowhere near as small a fraction as is typical in a class action. > The lawsuit with the state as plaintiff will drag on until either a settlement or the statute of limitation is reached. That's not how statutes of limitations work. They run from the event giving rise to the cause of action to the moment the action is filed; once the case is filed within the statute of limitations, how long it runs is immaterial.
- gowld 8y ago
  That's only true in some cases. In the recent Tesla occupational-safety case, the statute of limitations ran from time of the incident until time of resolution, so stalling did cancel the government intervention.
  - dragonwriter 8y ago
    > the recent Tesla occupational-safety case, the statute of limitations ran from time of the incident until time of resolution, so stalling did cancel the government intervention. The one with Tesla I am familiar with ran to filing action. The investigation found previously-unknown potential violations which were too far in the past for CalOSHA to initiate legal action regarding them. Do you have a source for something else?
sailfast 8y ago
...unless the customers were required to acknowledge forced arbitration in their customer agreement. In that case they would not be able to sue.

by _pmf_ 8y ago

sjroot 8y ago

That’s the answer I expected but didn’t want to see.

dragonwriter 8y ago

> As it always plays out: regular people will only sue via class action lawsuit, meaning there will be a settlement that is a fraction of the damage. Businesses and individuals (and public agencies like cities, counties, and special districts) with losses, especially of structures, will in many cases be insured; direct action lawsuits, or the threat thereof, to force a substantially full settlement, to recover from liable parties are a big part of what insurance companies do, and the nature of insurance companies is that each will have much larger losses than any individual, and much more motivation to aggressively pursue them; there may still be settlements that are less than would be recovered in a final judgement (to the extent that time value of money and risk and reduced litigation costs make that a winning proposition), but nowhere near as small a fraction as is typical in a class action. > The lawsuit with the state as plaintiff will drag on until either a settlement or the statute of limitation is reached. That's not how statutes of limitations work. They run from the event giving rise to the cause of action to the moment the action is filed; once the case is filed within the statute of limitations, how long it runs is immaterial.

gowld 8y ago
That's only true in some cases. In the recent Tesla occupational-safety case, the statute of limitations ran from time of the incident until time of resolution, so stalling did cancel the government intervention.
- dragonwriter 8y ago
  > the recent Tesla occupational-safety case, the statute of limitations ran from time of the incident until time of resolution, so stalling did cancel the government intervention. The one with Tesla I am familiar with ran to filing action. The investigation found previously-unknown potential violations which were too far in the past for CalOSHA to initiate legal action regarding them. Do you have a source for something else?

sailfast 8y ago

...unless the customers were required to acknowledge forced arbitration in their customer agreement. In that case they would not be able to sue.