Class Wants Utility to Pay for Power Surges

VENTURA, Calif. (CN) - Power surges repeatedly damage computers and other appliances but Southern California Edison denies liability for them and refuses to compensate injured customers, a class action claims.

Greg Nordyke claims power surges in June and December 2013 did $3,000 in damages to electrical equipment in his Ventura home.

Ted Bauer claims a July 2014 power surge cost him $1,800.

The lead plaintiffs claim that "(d)espite the well-settled state of the law in California, defendants SCE has routinely, affirmatively, and uniformly misled its customers/ratepayers by falsely stating that SCE is not strictly liable for damages caused by a power surge."

They claim that SCE has equipment and procedures to track the homes of customers affected by a power surge, but routinely denies all claims for property damage unless it determines the surge was caused by negligence.

SCE serves 14 million customers in 50,000 square miles.

Nordyke and Bauer seek class certification, costs of restoration, repair and/or replacement, attorney's fees, and equitable relief.

They are represented by Allen Ball with Ball & Yorke in Ventura.

Parties to the lawsuit could not be reached for comment after business hours Tuesday.

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