Yes. If you own property in California that a wildfire damaged or destroyed, you have the legal right to file a lawsuit in California courts, regardless of where you live. Your right to take legal action is determined by where the financial harm occurred, not by your home address.
This principle, known as legal standing, is straightforward: because your property is located in California, the loss you suffered happened there. This applies to all types of property owners, whether it was a vacation home, a rental unit generating income, or a second home for your family. The law recognizes that your financial injury is tied to the property's location, granting you access to the state's legal system to seek recovery.
However, acknowledging you have this right and knowing how to act on it from another state are two different things. The logistics seem challenging when you are hundreds or thousands of miles away. How do you document your losses, deal with court filings, and hold a massive corporation accountable from a distance?
If you have questions about your specific situation, call Bernheim Law Firm at (800) WILDFIRE for a straightforward conversation about your options.
Key Takeaways for Out-of-State Property Owners
- Your right to sue is based on where the property is located, not where you live. This gives you the same legal standing as a California resident to file a lawsuit in California courts and seek full compensation for your losses.
- Insurance payouts rarely cover the full cost of a wildfire. A lawsuit is the only way to recover uninsured losses, such as diminished land value, emotional distress, and the gap between your policy limits and current rebuilding costs.
- A California-based law firm manages the entire legal process for you. You do not need to travel to California; an experienced legal team handles the investigation, court filings, and negotiations on your behalf while you remain at home.
Why Your Insurance Payout Is Only the Starting Point
After a disaster, your first instinct is likely to file a claim with your insurance company. This is a necessary and important step, but for a complete financial recovery, it is almost never the final one. Relying solely on your insurance policy leaves you with significant, unrecovered losses long after your claim is paid out.
Insurance policies have coverage limits, or caps, on how much they will pay. In the case of a total loss, these limits may fall far short of what it costs to rebuild your home at today’s construction and labor prices. The amount you insured your property for five or ten years ago may not reflect the current reality of rebuilding, leaving a substantial gap you would have to cover out-of-pocket.
Furthermore, many of the real losses caused by a wildfire are not covered by standard insurance policies. These non-covered losses typically include:
- Land Value Diminution: The market value of your land itself may have plummeted after being scorched by a fire. Insurance does not compensate you for this loss in your property’s underlying value.
- Landscaping and Trees: The cost to replace mature trees, custom gardens, and other unique outdoor features frequently exceeds the small sub-limits in most policies.
- Emotional Distress: The trauma, anxiety, and stress of losing a home—even a second home—are real harms. These non-economic damages are not something your property insurance will cover.
- Lost Income: If you owned a rental property, you are losing income every month it remains unleased. While some policies offer limited coverage, it may not be enough to sustain you through a lengthy rebuilding process.
An insurance company is a business, and it must balance paying claims with its financial obligations to its shareholders. Their investigation is designed to pay exactly what is owed under the precise terms of your policy, and not a penny more.
Recent lawsuits even allege that major insurers in California have colluded to limit coverage in high-risk areas, pushing homeowners onto last-resort plans with high premiums and lower coverage. A lawsuit against the at-fault party is designed to recover all the losses that insurance leaves behind. It is the only legal mechanism available to make you truly whole again.
The Real Path to Full Compensation: Holding Negligent Companies Accountable
Many of the most destructive wildfires in California are not random acts of nature. They are man-made disasters caused by the negligence of utility companies that fail to maintain their equipment and manage the vegetation around their power lines.
Wildfire lawsuits against companies like PG&E or Southern California Edison are typically built on two legal grounds:
- Negligence: This is a failure to act with reasonable care. A utility company that fails to inspect and replace aging equipment or properly clear trees away from power lines is responsible for the fire that results from that failure. This was a central issue in lawsuits concerning the Dixie Fire, where PG&E equipment was found to be the cause.
- Inverse Condemnation: This is a legal principle embedded in the California Constitution that holds a public utility strictly liable for property damage its equipment causes, even if the company wasn't negligent. Put simply, if their power line, transformer, or other equipment caused the fire that destroyed your property, they are responsible for the damage. This provides a direct path to liability for property owners.
A lawsuit allows us to pursue compensation that goes far beyond what an insurance policy will ever pay. We pursue recovery for:
- All uninsured property losses, including the gap between your policy limit and the true cost of rebuilding.
- The diminished value of your land and property after the fire.
- Lost income from a damaged or destroyed rental property.
- Compensation for the emotional distress, anxiety, and disruption the disaster has caused in your life.
- Full restoration costs for trees, soil, landscaping, and other natural features of your property.
- Miscellaneous expenses, such as the costs of traveling to and from California to deal with property matters.
How We Handle Your Case from Another State: A Step-by-Step Overview
One of the biggest concerns for out-of-state property owners is how they can possibly manage a lawsuit from hundreds or thousands of miles away. The answer is simple: you don’t have to.
Our firm is structured to handle every aspect of the legal process in California on your behalf, allowing you to focus on your life at home while we pursue justice for you.
Here is how it works:
- Your Initial Call: The process begins with a simple, confidential phone call to (800) WILDFIRE. We will listen to your story, understand what happened to your property, and explain your legal options clearly. This consultation happens over the phone or by video conference, so there is no need for you to travel.
- We Handle the Investigation: You don’t need to worry about gathering evidence from afar. Bernheim Law Firm deploys a team of investigators, forestry experts, property assessors, and other specialists directly to your property in California. We meticulously document the damage, preserve evidence of the fire’s origin, and build the foundation of your case.
- Filing the Lawsuit: Our legal team manages all the complex paperwork and files the lawsuit on your behalf in the appropriate California court. We handle every deadline, every communication with the court, and every interaction with the defendant's attorneys.
- The Legal Proceedings: Your direct involvement is kept to a minimum. We manage the court appearances, depositions, and settlement negotiations. In the vast majority of cases, our out-of-state clients are not required to travel to California at all during the litigation process. We provide you with regular, easy-to-understand updates so you are always informed of our progress.
- Resolution: Our objective is to secure a settlement that covers the full extent of your losses. We handle the intense negotiations with the corporate legal teams, leveraging the evidence we have gathered to argue for maximum compensation. We will present every offer to you and provide our guidance, but the final decision to accept a settlement is always yours.
A Warning: Why You Should Not Use Utility Company Compensation Portals
After a major wildfire, the responsible utility company, like PG&E, typically sets up a "Fire Victim Trust" or an online compensation portal. These portals are promoted as a fast and easy way for victims to get money without the hassle of a lawsuit. It is tempting to see this as a simple solution, especially when you are dealing with the stress of your loss.
However, these portals are not designed with your best interests in mind. They are tools created by the very corporations that caused your devastation, and their goal is to limit their financial liability. By using these portals, you may be walking into a trap. You could unknowingly sign away your right to file a lawsuit or accept an amount that is far less than what your claim is truly worth.
These portals are a tactic to settle claims quickly and cheaply, before victims have a full understanding of their long-term damages. Many who have used these portals have reported long delays, frustrating communication, and payments that fall far short of what was promised. The right way to secure compensation is not through a system designed by the party that harmed you.
Instead of submitting your information to an online portal, call us. We will ensure your claim is handled correctly from the start, preserving all your legal rights and positioning you to pursue the full and fair compensation available under California law.
Frequently Asked Questions for Out-of-State Property Owners
Do I need to hire a lawyer based in California?
Yes. Because your property is in California, any lawsuit must be filed in California courts. Therefore, you need a law firm that is licensed to practice law in California and has a deep understanding of the state's specific wildfire litigation laws. Bernheim Law Firm handles these cases throughout California.
What if my property was uninsured or underinsured?
A lawsuit becomes even more important in this situation. A legal claim is not dependent on your insurance coverage; it is focused on holding the negligent corporation responsible. We pursue compensation for all of your losses directly from the at-fault utility, regardless of whether you had insurance.
How much does it cost to hire Bernheim Law Firm?
We handle all wildfire cases on a contingency fee basis. This means you pay absolutely no upfront fees. Our firm advances all costs of the litigation. We only receive a fee if we are successful in recovering compensation for you. Basically, if you don’t get paid, we don’t get paid.
How long will a wildfire lawsuit take?
These cases are complicated and involve powerful corporate defendants, so they take time to resolve, sometimes a few years. However, our focus is on moving your case forward as efficiently as possible while ensuring we build the strongest claim for maximum recovery. We keep you informed with regular updates throughout the process.
My property was in Los Angeles County (or another specific region). Does that matter?
We handle wildfire cases across the entire state of California. While the specific fire that destroyed your property, such as the Eaton or Palisades fires, determines which company is at fault, the legal process for an out-of-state owner remains the same. Our approach is tailored to the facts of your case, no matter where in California your property was located.
Your Bridge to Justice in California
You are not powerless, and you do not have to go through this alone.
The first step toward recovery is a simple phone call. You don’t need to have all your paperwork or every answer to get started.If your California property was impacted by a wildfire, call Bernheim Law Firm today at (800) WILDFIRE to understand your rights and learn how we help.