Trust Leadership

Cathy Yanni

Trustee

Cathy Yanni became Trustee of the Fire Victim Trust effective July 1, 2022. In her previous role as Claims Administrator, Yanni assisted the former Trustee, the Honorable John K. Trotter (ret.), in Trust oversight, and she directly oversaw all Fire Victim claims resolution, including design and implementation of the claims resolution process, from establishing eligibility requirements and claims review procedures to ensuring that funds are distributed in a fair and equitable manner. Yanni also served Fire Victims as the Administrator of the Wildfire Assistance Program.

Previous to her work on behalf of Fire Victims, Yanni settled tens of thousands of cases, facilitated distribution of billions of dollars in settlement funds to Claimants, and oversaw multiple claims reconciliation processes. She has been a Court Appointed Special Master and/or Mediator in numerous cases involving wildfires, mass torts, and class actions. In addition to being appointed as an appeal panelist in the Takata Airbag Tort Compensation Trust Fund established in the TK Holdings Inc. bankruptcy case, she been appointed as an Administrator, Special Master, or Mediator in thousands of other cases. She also worked with Justice Trotter to formulate a resolution program for the 2007 San Diego fire cases, ultimately acting as mediator and arbitrator for the program.

Read Cathy Yanni’s biography.

David Agretelis

Claims Administrator

In his role as Claims Administrator, David Agretelis oversees all Fire Victim claims resolution and ensures that funds are distributed in a fair and equitable manner. He also was instrumental in designing and implementing the Fire Victim Trust’s claims resolution process and eligibility requirements and served Fire Victims as the Assistant Administrator of the Wildfire Assistance Program. Previous to his work on behalf of Fire Victims, Agretelis worked on numerous nationwide mass tort and inventory settlements. His work on those programs included claims administration, settlement fund allocation methodology and implementation, and database design and management. Agretelis also previously worked as consultant for a national lien resolution firm, and he has played an instrumental role in negotiating and overseeing the Fire Victim Trust’s medical lien resolution program.

The Honorable Ellen Sickles James (Ret.)

Special Master for Minor Compromises

In her role as Special Master for Minor Compromises, Judge James reviews and approves any minors’ compromises in conjunction with the evaluation, disallowance, resolution, settlement, and approval of all Fire Victim Claims. She also oversees the implementation and enforcement of any measures approved by the Court for the protection of minors or adult persons with disabilities on whose behalf a Fire Victim Claim has been submitted.

Viggo Boserup

Appeals Coordinator

In his role as Appeals Coordinator, Mr. Boserup reviews and evaluates all appeals and determines whether an appeal from a Determination of the Claims Administrator should be heard by a Neutral from the General Panel or by a Neutral from the Complex Panel.

BrownGreer

Claims Processor

In its role as Claims Processor, BrownGreer is responsible for executing the claims review process from initial claim submission through final resolution.

Wolf/Garretson

Lien Resolution Coordinator

In its role as Lien Resolution Coordinator, Wolf/Garretson is responsible for identifying, negotiating and resolving liens associated with fire victim claims that require repayment prior to the release of settlement funds.