Frequently Asked Questions (FAQs)

How do I vote on the PG&E Plan?

Around April 1, we should all receive via mail or email the Solicitations Materials, including a copy of the Plan, the Disclosure Statement, some court orders and hearing notices, and a Ballot. You may vote through your attorney or you may vote directly by returning the Ballot by mail (mailing instructions are part of the Ballot) or by voting online. We will post a link to the online Ballot once it becomes available. Some attorneys are collecting votes via text. We recommend against voting by text.

When do I vote?

All Ballots must be delivered to Prime Clerk or submitted online no later than 4 PM on May 15, 2020.

My attorney wants me to vote right away. Will we get paid faster?

No, the vote stays open until 4 PM on May 15, 2020 because many people will vote at the last minute and anyone may change their vote before the deadline.

What if I change my mind after I vote?

You can submit a new Ballot. Contact us if you want help with that process.

Why are you asking people to wait until Mother’s Day to vote?

Many reasons. First, we still haven’t seen the final Fire Victims Trust Agreement and Claims Resolution Procedures, Registration Rights Agreement, Tax Benefits Payment Agreement and other key documents. So, we don’t have all the facts. Plus, the deal keeps changing and we want people to vote when they know more about what they are voting on.

When will I get paid?

This is a billion dollar question. In December, PG&E was saying that payments would start going out in July 2020. Then, the timeline was pushed back to October 2020. Not it looks like payments may not be made until early 2021 and will be made in installments over more than a year.

What happens if the stock going into the Fire Victims Trust goes down in value?

We will all receive less money. The shortfall will be allocated pro rata, meaning that if a drop in stock price reduces the amount in the Trust by 10%, then we will all get 10% less recovery.

What if the price goes up?

If the Trust has a gain on the stock, then up to $89 million of that gain will be paid to various state agencies that have fire claims against PG&E.  Any stock gain beyond that will not change the amount of your claim, but it may increase the amount of money that the Trust has available to satisfy all eligible fire victims claims and get us closer to 100% recovery.

Who pays the fees and costs of the Trustee of the Fire Victims Trust?

We do. They will come out of the Trust.

How much money will I receive?

We wish we knew. We won’t know until the Trustee has had a chance to review all the claims.

How will my attorney get paid?

Most attorneys will be deducting their fees pro rata. For example, if you are paying your attorney a 20% contingency and you receive a $50,000 payment, your attorney would be entitled to 20% ($10,000) and you would receive the remaining $40,000. Check with your attorney. Not all firms are handling this the same way.

Are the payments and stock from PG&E into the Fire Victims Trust insured or guaranteed?

No, they are neither insured nor guaranteed. There are some backstop agreements that provide some assurance that PG&E will be able to raise enough money to make the initial cash payment of $5.4 billion to the Trust, but those have escape clauses. For the stock portion of the settlement, PG&E will issue more shares to the Fire Victims Trust until the nominal value of the shares reaches $6.75 billion. That means the Fire Victims Trust could end up owning a larger percentage of PG&E. We believe the formula for valuing the stock going into the Trust makes it appear as if the stock is worth more than it is. As a result, there is no insurance or guarantee that the stock will be worth $6.75 billion on the date it is issued or any time after that.

Won’t the Trustee sell the stock right away to generate cash to pay us?

Unfortunately not. The stock issued to the Trust will be subject to lock-up restrictions, meaning the Trustee may be barred from selling any stock for months and then may be restricted as to how much may be sold in any month. The sale of stock could drag on for years. We haven’t see the terms of any lock-up agreement yet.