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Those who are suing over losses from the fire are looking for more information about the cause. Federal attorneys have argued they need more time because Forest Service employees and others are furloughed by the government shutdown.
A U.S. district judge on Monday, Nov. 3, refused to delay fact-finding requests in lawsuits over the cause of the Holiday Farm Fire.
For the second time, federal attorneys had requested a stay in proceedings given the federal government shutdown.
The 2020 wildfire destroyed more than 500 homes and structures. Potentially hundreds of millions of dollars in compensation are at stake in lawsuits for those who sustained losses from the fire.
The lawsuits blame utilities, including the federal Bonneville Power Administration, stating in court documents that the fire’s cause is related to energized power lines and fallen trees.
U.S. District Judge Mustafa T. Kasubhai on Monday denied the most recent motion for a stay, referring to “pending” disputes over fact-finding efforts, known in court terminology as discovery.
The disputes center on requests made to federal attorneys representing the Bonneville Power Administration.
In court filings and during an Oct. 8 hearing, plaintiffs’ attorneys have complained about a lack of responsiveness to requests for data. Attorneys have also sought more interviews with U.S. Forest Service officials about what evidence may exist relating to the fire’s cause.
Requests have been made both by attorneys for those seeking compensation and by those representing the two other utilities being sued over the fire’s cause, the public Eugene Water & Electric Board and the member-owned Lane Electric Cooperative.
“Under these circumstances, the Court does not find good cause to further delay this case,” Kasubhai’s Monday order stated.
Federal attorneys, in their Oct. 28 motion seeking a stay, said that “all the USDA and Forest Service employees working on these discovery issues are furloughed.”
Kasubhai previously denied a stay request made before the Oct. 8 hearing that also cited the government shutdown.
Federal attorneys on Oct. 8 in U.S. District Court in Eugene argued that the Bonneville Power Administration should be immune from any civil liability.
Kasubhai has yet to issue a formal ruling on the government’s request, but during the hearing said he would be unlikely to grant immunity from the civil claims.
After hearing complaints about a lack of responsiveness, Kasubhai at the Oct. 8 hearing also warned federal authorities against “slow-rolling this case into oblivion.”
Attorneys for EWEB on Oct. 29 filed a formal motion seeking a judge’s order to compel certain U.S. Forest Service documents and communications and also to make three Forest Service employees available for interviews.
On Tuesday, Nov. 4, Kasubhai issued an order about a lawsuit filed in April on behalf of several homeowners, renters and others who sustained property damage from the fire. Kasubhai ordered the lawsuit, listed under the name Enfield v. United States, to be consolidated with four other similar lawsuits.
