Just weeks after a Los Angeles judge ruled that theLos Angeles Department of Water and Power (LADWP) could be held liablefor the catastrophic water system failure and aging electrical infrastructure that fueled the Palisades Fire, the utility’s CEO and chief engineer is stepping down, announcing her return to her home island of Puerto Rico.
Mayor Karen Bass announced Wednesday that Janisse Quiñones, who oversees the city’s electric grid and water supply,will step down effective March 27as part of what the mayor described as a “planned transition.”
Critics, however, suggested the timing was more than coincidental, calling it “suspicious” and labeling her sudden departure a “dereliction of duty.”
“Interesting development, coming on the heels of the judge in our case overruling LADWP’s demurrer to our Master Complaint,” attorney Alex Robertson, the lawyer in the Palisades Fire case against LADWP, told The California Post. “I don’t believe in coincidences.”
Robertson was referring to a Feb. 19 ruling by Los Angeles Superior Court Judge Samantha Jessner rejecting LADWP’s attempt to dismiss the lawsuit.
By overruling the utility’s demurrer, the court allowed claims of inverse condemnation and dangerous condition of public property to proceed — specifically allegations tied to the “inherently risky” design of the water supply system and the failure of “antiquated” electrical infrastructure.
Jessner’s decision allows a massivelawsuit on behalf of roughly 10,000 fire victimsto move forward, forcing the city to formally respond to allegations that failing infrastructure and depleted water supplies worsened the disaster.
The ruling also highlighted claims that LADWP knowingly designed a water system that could fail if its primary reservoir was offline. At the time of the fires, the 117-million-gallonSanta Ynez Reservoir in Pacific Palisadeshad been drained for repairs — a decision plaintiffs argue contributed to the system being overwhelmed.
“The buck stops with her,” Robertson said. “She was chief engineer. The reservoirs should have been repaired in weeks, not months.”
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Source: California Post – Breaking California News, Photos & Videos
