Baron & Budd Obtains $7.25 Million Settlement on Behalf of City of Weed for Mill Fire

The settlement funds will help the community rebuild and provide for the City’s infrastructure recovery

WEED, Calif.--(BUSINESS WIRE)--Today, the national law firm of Baron & Budd, alongside Dixon Diab and Chambers LLP, announced a $7.25 million settlement with Roseburg Forest Products on behalf of the City of Weed to resolve claims from the 2022 Mill Fire, which caused extensive damages to public resources. The settlement funds will compensate the City for damaged infrastructure. The City of Weed has fewer than 3,000 residents with an annual operating budget between $3.5 million to $4 million.

Instead of filing a lawsuit, the City and attorneys at Baron & Budd collaborated directly with Roseburg and its attorneys to address the damages caused by the September 2, 2022 Mill Fire. These damages encompassed losses in productive assets, increased expenses, lost revenues, and other detrimental impacts to city resources, infrastructure, and emergency response costs.

“We worked directly with Roseburg’s attorneys without litigation to negotiate this settlement for the City of Weed,” said Baron & Budd Shareholder, John Fiske. “Roseburg is compensating the city now rather than engaging in litigation. This money is crucial to the city as it rebuilds.”

The Mill Fire was a fast-moving, destructive wildfire fueled by strong winds that burned 3,935 acres, including through the City of Weed. On June 16, 2023, the California Department of Forestry and Fire Protection issued a news release naming Roseburg as the cause of the Mill Fire, stating “the Mill Fire was caused by mill operations at the Roseburg Forest Product property.” The City is currently working in collaboration with residents and community partners to restore the infrastructure that was affected by the Mill Fire.

The City of Weed was represented by John Fiske, Torri Sherlin, and Taylor O’Neal of Baron & Budd, PC, and Ed Diab and Rob Chambers of Dixon Diab & Chambers, LLP. The City of Weed is represented by City Attorney David Ruderman of Colantuono Highsmith & Whatley, PC.

About Baron & Budd, P.C.

Baron & Budd, P.C. is among the largest and most accomplished plaintiffs’ law firms in the country. With more than 45 years of experience, Baron & Budd has the expertise and resources to handle complex litigation throughout the United States. As a law firm that takes pride in remaining at the forefront of litigation, Baron & Budd has spearheaded many significant cases for hundreds of entities and thousands of individuals. Since the firm was founded in 1977, Baron & Budd has achieved substantial national acclaim for its work on cutting-edge litigation, trying hundreds of cases to verdict and settling tens of thousands of cases in areas of litigation as diverse and significant as dangerous and highly addictive pharmaceuticals, defective medical devices, asbestos and mesothelioma, California wildfires and environmental contamination, fraudulent banking practices, e-cigarettes, motor vehicles, federal whistleblower cases, and other consumer fraud issues.