Fire Lawsuit Filed Against Southern California Edison for Billions of Dollars

Harold Christian Roche, a former child model turned reputable tailor and designer of clothes for the well-heeled and influential members of California society, has filed a class action lawsuit against Southern California Edison and Edison International to hold them jointly and severally liable for causing the Eaton Fire and Hurst Fire.

Roche alleges that the devastating fires were caused by defendants’ negligence, misconduct, and wrongdoing, that defendants violated applicable statutory, regulatory, reasonable, and/or professional standards of care, and that defendants are liable for Negligence, Negligence Per Se, Negligent Interference with Prospective Economic Advantage, Inverse Condemnation, Premises Liability, Trespass, Private Nuisance, Public Nuisance, Violation of California Public Utilities Code § 2106, Violation of California Health and Safety Code § 13007, and Violation of California Business and Professions Code § 17200, et seq.

For example, Mr. Roche alleges that defendants failed to de-energize their power lines on the fateful evening of January 7, 2025, when the fires were ignited; failed to engage in adequate vegetation management; improperly classified major categories of spending as safety related, when in fact they did not relate to safety; engaged in and/or allowed pole overloading; and failed to adequately design, construct, inspect, monitor, maintain, replace, and modernize their aging electrical infrastructure and to bring their operations into compliance with modern standards, use, and needs, to protect public safety.

Mr. Roche seeks to represent individuals and business who are victims of the fires, and seeks monetary damages, according to proof, which he contemplates amount to be in the billions of dollars, as well as injunctive and other relief.  Mr. Roche has hired one of the nation’s most accomplished legal teams, comprising the class action attorneys at Lawyers for Justice, PC, to represent him.  The attorneys have successfully litigated over 1,000 class actions in the last decade alone.

Mr. Roche’s case stands out because most of the other cases that have been filed regarding the fires do not seek class certification or relief on a class-wide basis; these other lawsuits have elected not to seek class relief and to only seek relief on an individual basis by seeking to join individual lawsuits under the rules of joinder.

If any other victims of the fire experienced losses, they are urged to contact the wildfire attorneys at Lawyers for Justice, PC for a free consultation by calling (818) JUSTICE.