Pasadena Unified School District Sues Southern California Edison Over Devastating Eaton Fire

The Pasadena Unified School District filed a lawsuit against Southern California Edison seeking compensation for extensive damage to educational facilities caused by the Eaton Fire that began Jan. 7, 2025.

The lawsuit alleges the utility company’s electrical equipment sparked the wind-driven blaze that destroyed five schools and damaged numerous others throughout the District, affecting thousands of students.

“The destruction of multiple schools and educational facilities has created an immense burden on students, families, and the entire educational community,” said John Fiske, a shareholder at Baron & Budd P.C., outside counsel representing the District. “This lawsuit seeks fair compensation to recover the taxpayer resources and district property lost as a result of this devastating fire.”

The Eaton Fire burned more than 14,000 acres, damaged or destroyed over 10,000 structures and claimed at least 17 lives in Altadena.

Documentation submitted with the legal filing includes photographic evidence indicating the fire’s origin point and references to SCE’s own regulatory filings acknowledging electrical system anomalies.

The District’s complaint claims that Edison filed reports with the California Public Utilities Commission acknowledging that a “fault was detected” on its transmission circuit at approximately the same time and location the fire began.

The lawsuit details damage to Franklin Elementary School, Eliot Arts Magnet Middle School, the Edison campus housing Odyssey Charter School, the Loma Alta campus housing Pasadena Rosebud Academy and Oak Knoll Montessori School, and the Noyes campus housing Aveson School of Leaders.

The complaint notes that weather forecasts in the days preceding the fire had repeatedly warned of extreme fire danger, with the National Weather Service issuing progressively stronger advisories culminating in a Red Flag Warning on Jan. 7 when winds reached extreme levels.

“The District remains committed to providing exceptional education to its students and the community it serves,” said Ed Diab, a founding partner of Diab Chambers LLP, who is also representing the District in this matter. “The lawsuit seeks to address the devastating impacts this fire has had on the District’s educational infrastructure and the significant losses sustained in the wake of the Eaton Fire.”

The complaint includes claims for inverse condemnation, negligence, trespass, nuisance, premises liability and violations of Public Utilities and Health & Safety Codes. It addresses both direct fire damage and subsequent costs of managing post-fire environmental hazards, emergency response and infrastructure restoration.

The Pasadena Board of Education had voted unanimously 7-0 in closed session on March 14 to pursue the litigation against SCE and other defendants to recover damages.

The Pasadena Unified School District is represented by outside counsel John Fiske, Torri Sherlin, and Taylor O’Neal of Baron & Budd P.C., and Ed Diab, Rob Chambers, and Kristen Barton of Diab Chambers LLP, the same legal team supporting Los Angeles County, the City of Pasadena, and the City of Sierra Madre in the related litigation.