Overview
- LA Fire Justice filed the complaint on behalf of Geraldine Darden, alleging the death of her sister Stacey resulted from defective alerting and utility negligence during the Jan. 7 Eaton Fire.
- The suit claims Genasys’ predefined evacuation polygons left residents west of Lake Avenue without prompt orders, where 18 of the fire’s 19 fatalities occurred.
- According to the filing, Stacey Darden’s phone showed last activity around 3:30 a.m. on Jan. 8, and an evacuation order did not reach her device until 5:43 a.m.
- Plaintiffs also allege Southern California Edison equipment likely ignited the blaze; the utility says it is reviewing the case, has acknowledged its equipment may have started the fire, and notes its compensation program is not an admission of liability.
- A county after-action review attributed most alert problems to human error and limited training on the new system, and Genasys now denies wrongdoing and says it will defend against the allegations.