Vistra, PG&E, other agencies named in civil lawsuit filed after battery plant fire

MONTEREY/ALAMEDA COUNTIES, Calif. (KION-TV) -- Singleton Schreiber, LLP has filed a civil lawsuit in Alameda County Court in the name of multiple plaintiffs against Vistra, PG&E and other companies after the fire at a Moss Landing Vistra battery storage facility in mid-January.

According to a court document provided at the bottom of this article, the complaint for damages filed against Vistra and other agencies includes various forms of liability, negligence, civil battery and others.

The plaintiffs are seeking a jury trial and demanding compensation for what they are calling damage to their health, property and livelihoods.

“They had to find some way to put the fire out," said Moss Landing resident Gary Burnett. "The solution is to not to let it burn out, that is the worst solution there is.” 

Within the 35-page lawsuit, there were claims that firefighters weren't able to engage the fire due to the high risk of explosions allowing the blaze to burn for days, which raised concerns among members in the community.

The lawsuit also alleges that toxic metals were found in soil samples up to one mile away from the fire, adding to fear in the area.

“The plume that came from the fire [blew] inland onto farmland," said Jene Frost, another Moss Landing resident. "We had these farmers here for generations raising crops and feeding the people here. My concern is that they wouldn't be doing diligence to the soil.” 

Section F of the civil lawsuit refers to damages to the named plaintiffs by the defendants' "acts and omissions."

The section says the fire resulted in massive plumes of smoke, ash and toxic chemicals into surrounding communities that created "personal discomfort, and annoyance," including "nasal and eye irritation, difficulty breathing, headaches, nosebleeds, sore/scratchy throat, lung congestion, fatigue, runny nose/nasal drip, burning lungs, dizziness, shortness of breath, unexplained discharge of blood, sores, metal taste, inability to focus, unusual smells, lung irritation and skin irritation."

It also claims the evacuation orders and school closures forced parents to take time off of work to care for their children, resulting in a loss of wages and/or having to use vacation or sick time.

Section V discusses the civil complaint for damages in detail. It refers to the defendants engaging in "ultrahazardous activities" by operating this type of battery storage facility, making them liable for any harm resulting from it.

Count 2 refers to liability and states, in part, "Plaintiffs are informed and believe that VISTRA DEFENDANTS collaborated with LG DEFENDANTS and Defendant PG&E in the defective facility design of the Moss Landing BESS facility, which included stacking thousands of NMC lithium-ion batteries in racks in an enclosed space, leading to thermal runaway and the fire on January 16, 2025."

"If you've got lithium batteries in thermal runaway, what they do is they heat up, they create intense heat, and then they'll ignite other lithium batteries around them," said Knute Johnson, a senior council at Singleton Schreiber. "So by designing it the way they did, they created like a giant lithium ion battery bomb."

Count 3 says the defendants knew about safety concerns with respect to battery storage and the need for proper maintenance and upkeep but failed to do follow-up procedures at the facility to make sure fire suppression wasn't hindered should a fire take place.

"We believe this is just dangerous, poorly designed," said Johnson. "Now that their fire suppression equipment apparently didn't work, as evidenced by some statements by Vistra employees as well as the fact that fire burned the plant to the ground, which suggests that fire suppression had absolutely zero effect on it."

The sixth count in the case describes property value being lost because of the heavy metals found in soil testing from the County of Environmental Health's preliminary test, along with SJSU's soil testing in the aftermath of the fire.

Plaintiffs in the case are asking for compensatory damages in an amount to be determined at trial, punitive damages to deter future misconduct and an award for attorney fees and costs.

"This is about those immediate effects as well as the costs of cleaning or remediating, being evacuated, having to get alternate housing in some cases," said Johnson. "PG&E... the way these plants work is that they're both utilities. We believe they both provide electricity to the the California consumers."

Johnson says that PG&E described Vistra as their partner in providing electricity to the area.

PG&E responded, saying:

“PG&E is aware of the lawsuit, and we are reviewing it. The fire at the Vistra Moss Landing power plant on January 16, 2025, was not a PG&E incident.

We have reached out to Vistra for comment on the civil lawsuit but have not heard back.

Click below to read the full document

Another law firm partially based in Los Angeles named Weitz & Luxenberg is also seeking clients impacted by the Moss Landing Vistra Battery Plant fire.

There will be a Moss Landing Town Hall Meeting on February 11 at 5 p.m. held by the law firm to address questions and concerns from the community. The link to join by Zoom is available, here.