HarrisMartin’s California Wildfire Litigation Conference: Strategic Overview of The North Bay Fires

Conference Agenda

Day 1, Monday, February 26, 2018

7:30 a.m. - 8:45 a.m.
Continental Breakfast and Registration

8:45 a.m. - 9:00 a.m.
Welcome by Co-Chairs

Frank M. Pitre, Cotchett, Pitre & McCarthy, LLP, San Francisco
Michael A. Kelly, Walkup, Melodia, Kelly & Schoenberger, San Francisco
Steven M. Campora, Dreyer Babich Buccola Wood Campora, LLP, Sacramento, CA


9:00 a.m. - 9:45 a.m.
The Factual Background Surrounding the Various Fires, and Fire Map Outlining the Geographic Location of Each Fire

Bill Robins, Robins Cloud LLP, Santa Monica, CA
Mary E. Alexander, Mary Alexander & Associates, P.C., San Francisco
Mark P. Robinson Jr., Robinson Calcagnie, Inc., Newport Beach, CA


9:45 a.m. - 10:15 a.m.
CPUC Reports of the Location of 22 Fires

• Analyzing the 111 Reports of Various Fires From Emergency Responders
Bill Robins, Robins Cloud LLP, Santa Monica, CA
Khaldoun Baghdadi, Walkup, Melodia, Kelly & Schoenberger, San Francisco
Lyssa Roberts, Panish Shea & Boyle, Los Angeles


10:15 a.m. - 10:30 a.m.
Refreshment Break

10:30 a.m. - 11:15 a.m.
Overview of Potential Causes

Failure to Deactivate Lines
Craig S. Simon, Berger Kahn, Irvine, CA

Failure to Deactivate/Re-Program Re-Closers
Craig S. Simon, Berger Kahn, Irvine, CA

Aging Infrastructure and Poorly Maintained Equipment, Including Poles, Lines, and Transformers
Khaldoun Baghdadi, Walkup, Melodia, Kelly & Schoenberger, San Francisco

Vegetation Management: Rules, Practices, Procedures
Steven M. Campora, Dreyer Babich Buccola Wood Campora, LLP, Sacramento, CA

Wind Influence: “The Accelerant,” Not the Initiating Event
• PG&E Monitoring Activities in the Days Before
Frank M. Pitre, Cotchett, Pitre & McCarthy, LLP, San Francisco


11:15 a.m. - 12:00 p.m.
Key Legal Issues

• Application of Inverse Condemnation to Utilities
• Use of 1260.040 Motion to Establish Causation, Or Lack Thereof
• Unique Damage Issues
• Attorneys’ Fees & Expert Costs
• Double/Treble Damages to Trees (Dispute Over Application)
• Diminution vs Restoration
• Economic Loss
Craig S. Simon, Berger Kahn, Irvine, CA
Dario de Ghetaldi, Corey, Luzaich, de Ghetaldi & Riddle LLP, Millbrae, CA
Lexi J. Hazam, Lieff Cabraser Heimann & Bernstein, LLP, San Francisco


12:00 p.m. - 1:30 p.m.
Lunch

Lunch Sponsored by RHP Risk Management

RHP Risk Management


1:30 p.m. - 1:50 p.m.
Smoke and Soot Impact: 50 Shades of Gray

Randy McClure, JD, CSP, RHP Risk Management, Berkeley, CA


1:50 p.m. - 2:30 p.m.
Risk Management & Enterprise Management: The Key to Understanding How it All Fits Together

Frank M. Pitre, Cotchett, Pitre & McCarthy, LLP, San Francisco
Steven M. Campora, Dreyer Babich Buccola Wood Campora, LLP, Sacramento, CA


2:30 p.m. - 2:45 p.m.
Refreshment Break

2:45 p.m. - 3:15 p.m.
The Role of the Class Case

Elizabeth J. Cabraser, Lieff Cabraser Heimann & Bernstein, LLP, San Francisco
Lexi J. Hazam, Lieff Cabraser Heimann & Bernstein, LLP, San Francisco


3:15 p.m. - 4:00 p.m.
Litigation Overview: Strategy & Implementation - First CMC Statement

Michael A. Kelly, Walkup, Melodia, Kelly & Schoenberger, San Francisco
Khaldoun Baghdadi, Walkup, Melodia, Kelly & Schoenberger, San Francisco


4:00 p.m. - 4:45 p.m.
First Steps: Master Complaint & Adoption Forms, Process for Use

Steven Skikos, Skikos, Crawford, Skikos & Joseph, LLP, San Francisco
Amy Eskin, Levin Simes, San Francisco
Anne Andrews, Andrews and Thornton, Irvine, CA


4:45 p.m. - 6:00 p.m.
Networking Cocktail Party