A judge Tuesday granted State Farm Insurance’s request to intervene as a party in a lawsuit filed against the Department of Water and Power by an Eagle Rock resident and her housemate, who allege a defectively maintained power pole and transformer caused so much electricity to enter their home that a fire broke out in its interior.
Los Angeles Superior Court Judge Wendy Chang granted the insurer’s unopposed motion. State Farm contended it had a right to step into the case brought by Renee Dominique and her fellow plaintiff and housemate, Brian Smith, because the insurer expects to pay about $1.2 million in a claim filed by the plaintiffs.
“As State Farm stands in the shoes of its insured and has the same rights as its insured, State Farm is entitled to rely on the notice of claim and the denial of same by the (DWP) in bringing this action,” the insurer’s attorneys stated in their court papers.
In their previous court papers, DWP attorneys denied the plaintiffs’ allegations and said that any damages or losses the pair suffered “were solely and legally caused by the carelessness and negligence of plaintiffs and others.”
In their suit, Dominique and Smith allege inverse condemnation, negligence, trespass, nuisance and dangerous condition of public property. The fire occurred at their Toland Place residence about 11 a.m. on Feb. 4, 2024.
According to the plaintiffs, a defective and malfunctioning transformer, power pole and related electrical facilities the supplied power to their home caused increased amounts of electricity to enter the building and damaged the electrical wiring and electrical equipment inside their residence, resulting in flames breaking out in the interior.
The pair heard a buzzing sound and the lights in their home flickered before the fire started, the suit states. Shortly thereafter, they heard a cracking sound and saw flames in multiple areas of their home, according to the suit.
“Plaintiffs tried to extinguish the flames with a fire extinguisher, but they were quickly overwhelmed and had to exit their home before being engulfed in the fire,” the suit states.
Dominique and Smith believe the pole and transformer were sending about 244 volts to the home instead of the usual 120, the suit states.
“The conditions and circumstances existing at the time the transformer malfunctioned were reasonably foreseeable” by the DWP, the suit filed last Aug. 26 alleges.