The judge overseeing PG&E’s bankruptcy case has ruled that litigation against the utility for its alleged role in Oakland’s 2016 Ghost Ship fire can go forward.
In a ruling Tuesday, U.S. Bankruptcy Judge Dennis Montali said he wanted to give families of the 36 people who died in the blaze “to have their day in court.”
The ruling, made over PG&E’s opposition, means the company could face a pretrial hearing later this week.
The wrongful death lawsuit, in which the company is named with the city of Oakland, the owners and proprietors of the Ghost Ship warehouse and others, is scheduled to go to trial in Alameda County Superior Court next May.
All litigation against PG&E was stayed when the company filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy protection last January, including the Ghost Ship case and numerous lawsuits the utility faces for its role in starting a series of catastrophic wildfires in 2017 and 2018.
Attorneys for the Ghost Ship plaintiffs, who have alleged that PG&E’s negligence contributed to the fire, have argued that their case against the company should be allowed to proceed.
PG&E’s lawyers have told Montali that any liability it faced for the Ghost Ship fire could be addressed as part of the bankruptcy proceeding. The company’s proposed $13.5 billion settlement with fire victims and others, announced last Friday, included a provision to pay the Ghost Ship plaintiffs.
Montali is scheduled to rule later Tuesday on whether he’ll accept the company’s settlement package.
Gov. Gavin Newsom has informed the company that the agreement falls short of what newly adopted state legislation requires in the way of financial and operational facility.
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