One of the places that took a ton of heat in the aftermath of the destructive Woolsey Fire is pointing the finger at the electricity company for allegedly being responsible for the damage.
According to documents, obtained by The Blast, the family and company who operates Malibu Wine Safaris and Malibu Wines, just filed a lawsuit against Southern California Edison in a complaint alleging negligence, nuisance, and other violations.
Malibu Wines claims SCE is a “monopoly” that is responsible for maintaining equipment in “safe operating condition,” and ensure that the power lines do not come into contact with each other, structures, or “trees and vegetation.”
The lawsuit claims SCE failed to comply with both conditions of safety.
Malibu Wines says during the night of November 8, when the fire broke out, the employees of the animal sanctuary, “worked through the night in order to lead more than 100 animals to a relatively safe and open pasture area,” in order to survive the fire.
They claim the efforts to save the animals were made in lieu of saving their own material possessions.
The plaintiffs believe the fire began over a faulty power line, which either fell down or sparked into the nearby vegetation. They are claiming SCE should have had proper procedures for maintaining and dealing with power lines near wild vegetation.
Because of the fire, Malibu Wines says the experience they delivered to customers is now “destroyed.”
Interestingly enough, the winery and safari suffered a ton of backlash in the aftermath of the fire, when celebrities, like Whitney Cummings, claimed they did not do enough to keep the animals safe.
Specifically, Stanley the giraffe became a well known figure as many worried about his safety, and even tried to help bring him food and water during the blaze.
For the record, Stanley survived and appears to be in good health as Malibu Wines continues to rebuild and clean up since the fire.
The lawsuit against SCE is one of the many that has been filed against the power company claiming they should be held responsible for the damage. The official investigation into the cause of the fire is ongoing.
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