The Fire Victim Trust was established in 2020 from the bankruptcy of PG&E to offer an efficient and equitable claim review process to compensate Fire Victims for damages caused by the 2015 Butte, 2017 North Bay, and 2018 Camp Fires.

Secondary

Helping people rebuild their lives

The Fire Victim Trust was established in 2020 from the bankruptcy of PG&E to offer an efficient and equitable claim review process to compensate Fire Victims for damages caused by the 2015 Butte, 2017 North Bay, and 2018 Camp Fires. Secondary

Latest Progress

Last updated on Feb 29, 2024

Total Payments and Awards

71,804 (100%)

40,416 (100%)

39,159 (97%)

$19.21 billion

$11.21 billion

Submitted Claims Questionnaires

CQs submitted as of 2/29/24 (40,416)

Claimants with Submitted Claims Questionnaires (CQs)

71,804

Submitted CQs

40,416

Claims Asserted

254,859

Claimants with Determination Notices

71,804 (100%)

CQs with Determination Notices Issued

40,416 (100%)

CQs with Accepted Determination Notices

39,159 (97%)

Paid Claimants

60,726 (85%)

Amount Paid

$11.21 billion

Amount Awarded

$19.21 billion

A Message from Trustee Cathy Yanni

March 12, 2024
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I am delighted to share that the Fire Victim Trust is increasing the pro rata payment percentage to 66% effective April 25, 2024. This increase is possible now that the Trust has reached two critical milestones: (1) issuance of 100% of Determination Notices with 97% now accepted and final; and (2) the final sale of PG&E stock on December 13, 2023.

As Trustee, it is my fiduciary duty to pay fire survivors as much as the Trust is able as soon as we are able, and the increase to 66% enables us to make an additional pro rata payment.

I also have a duty to reserve sufficient funds to comply with the pro rata requirement. The bankruptcy rules require that everyone is paid the same percentage of their award. These rules apply no matter when a claim is determined and accepted, or its dollar value. There will be at least one additional pro rata increase as we finalize the remaining claims, achieve certainty regarding the Trust’s total payment obligations, and wind down the program.

Before providing a more general update on the Road to Completion, I want to answer a few questions you may have about this pro rata increase and the related release requirement.

Q: How much money will be available as part of this pro rata increase and when will payments be made? With $1.2 billion in additional liquidity from our final stock sales and 97% of claims now accepted and final, we are confident we can safely increase the pro rata payment percentage for all fire survivors by six percent. On April 25, 2024, the Trust will begin bringing prior payments up from 60% to 66%. After that, the Trust will pay all pro rata payments at 66% of the final award amount.

Q: Are releases required to receive a 66% pro rata payment? Yes. Only claimants whose claims have been finalized and who have signed and submitted both releases will be eligible to receive payments following this pro rata increase. While your next pro rata payment is not conditioned on whether other claimants have signed their releases, your payment is conditioned on whether you have signed your releases.

We encourage attorneys and pro se claimants to submit releases to the Trust by April 1. Doing so will ensure that we receive and have time to review your releases before finalizing the April 25 payment list. Payments to eligible claimants whose releases are not received in time for the April 25 disbursement will be included in the next payment cycle after the Trust receives and confirms their releases. As a reminder, the Trust issues payments twice monthly, generally on the 15th and on the last day of the month.

Q: Will there be future increases in pro rata payments? Yes. The timing of future pro rata increases depends on resolution of the remaining 3% of claims. All of these claims are in Reconsideration review, have Reconsideration Notices to which the claimants have not yet responded, or have been appealed. Resolving these remaining claims efficiently and fairly is critical to determining the Trust’s total payment obligations and providing certainty on the final pro rata payment percentage available to all fire survivors.

The Road to Completion

In addition to announcing April’s pro rata payment percentage increase, I want to update you on the remaining work to do as we look forward to winding down the Trust in 2024.

  • Notices and Payments: Having issued Determination Notices on 100% of Claims Questionnaires by December 31, 2023, 97% of determinations are now accepted and final with $11.21 billion paid to claimants. The April pro rata increase will further increase claimant payments.

    There remain roughly 1,000 determinations not yet accepted. These are in various stages of Reconsideration and Appeal. As a result of tightening deadlines and curtailing extensions, we have finalized an additional 900 determinations already this year, and we continue working with attorneys and pro se claimants to move 100% of claims to acceptance without delay.
  • Releases: The Trust has been seeking release signatures since September 2023 and has received signed releases from almost 70% of eligible claimants. We encourage all claimants to submit their releases before the April pro rata payment increase, as release submission will be a prerequisite to payment going forward.

    As you will recall, before the Trust was created, the Bankruptcy Court approved a comprehensive Plan of Reorganization that mandated, in part, that each Fire Victim Claimant execute two releases – either an Individual Release or Entity Release (depending on Claimant type) and an Insurance Mutual Made Whole Release. The Trust’s public website includes FAQs (
    here) regarding these required releases.
  • Minors Compromises: The Honorable Ellen Sickles James (Ret.), was appointed Special Master to review claims determinations and disbursement measures for all awards to minors and incapacitated adults. We highlighted this process in an interview with Special Master James last year (available here). To streamline the process, we have increased the threshold for awards requiring a hearing via Zoom to $56,000 for represented claimants. As before, all pro se claimants get a hearing, and represented claimants whose awards are below $56,000 may request a hearing.

    Roughly 2,600 claimants (35%) have completed the Special Master approval process. We encourage everyone still requiring approval to submit their petitions and initiate the process as soon as possible. We will be sending reminders to firms and pro se claimants who still need to take these steps.
We have worked diligently from the beginning to compensate fire survivors for their losses, and we will continue to do so to bring closure to this process for each of you.

Thanks,

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Cathy Yanni



Latest Trust Updates

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Trustee Cathy Yanni announces a pro rata payment percentage increase to 66%. This increase is possible following two major milestones: a 97% acceptance rate as of March 2024 and the Trust’s final sale of PG&E stock in December 2023.

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Following up on support for previous tax relief legislation, Trustee Yanni sent letters requesting support for H.R. 7024, which would amend the IRS Code of 1986 and would exclude qualified wildfire relief payments from gross income.

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The Trust announced today the sale of the final 67.7 million shares of PG&E stock as it continues fulfilling its mission to compensate the victims of fires in Northern California from 2015 to 2018.  

Contact Us

If you need assistance with questions related to the Fire Victim Trust, use one of the following methods to contact the Claims Processor for the Fire Victim Trust.

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Mail
Fire Victim Trust
P.O. Box 25936
Richmond, VA 23260

Important: The contact information and methods listed on this page are for communications with the Claims Processor for the Fire Victim Trust. Kroll Restructuring Administration (formerly Prime Clerk) is the claims and noticing agent in the PG&E Bankruptcy Cases responsible for filing Proof of Claim forms with the Bankruptcy Court. Kroll is not responsible for receiving and processing information related to your Fire Victim Trust claims.

 
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