A jury awarded Redondo Beach resident Simona Wilson $4.05 million Monday in her case against Southern California Edison over stray electricity emanating from the Topaz Substation next door to her house.
The story of Wilson, 32, and the Topaz Substation first came to the foreground in October 2011 when the Easy Reader published an in-depth article about the issue. Wilson said she suffered from low-voltage electrocution because her shower head was electrically charged. Every time she adjusted the shower head, she said voltage seeped into her body. The home's gas line was also carrying a charge.
The low-voltage electrocution caused nerve damage and Wilson found herself in the emergency room on multiple occasions, she said.
Edison officials told Wilson that the Topaz Substation's issue with stray voltage had been an ongoing issue for at least two decades because the substation was not sufficiently grounded.
The issues began for Wilson in April 2011. She and her three young children moved out of the house, located near the intersection of Knob Hill and Prospect avenues, in September 2011. The lawsuit was filed Sept. 16 of the same year.
Wilson sued for intentional infliction of emotional distress, negligence and nuisance, her attorney, Lars C. Johnson, told Patch.
"The jury found in our favor on all three causes of action," Johnson said.
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The jury awarded $550,000 in compensatory damages for the negligence and emotional distress claims, as well as $500,000 in compensatory damages for the nuisance claim, Johnson said.
"Then (the jury) came back on a punitive damage phase, and there were $3 million in punitive damages," he told Patch. "The total was just over $4 million."
Wilson is "ecstatic" at the verdict, Johnson said.
"It was a tough fight—three weeks of trial," he said. "Edison denied any responsibility all the way through the trial up to the end … . The jury did the right thing and Simona was vindicated."
SCE disagreed and provided the following statement:
"While Southern California Edison (SCE) is appreciative of the efforts of the jury in the Simona Wilson case, it is disappointed in the conclusions reached by the jury and believes that the outcome is inconsistent with the totality of the evidence presented at trial.
"SCE provided considerable engineering and other testimony during the trial that refuted the claims made by Wilson. SCE believes its response to the concerns raised by Wilson regarding her home located near SCE’s Topaz Substation and its efforts to address those concerns were appropriate. The company also has cooperated fully with the investigation conducted by the Safety and Enforcement Division of the California Public Utilities Commission."
Some of Wilson's former neighbors in the 800 and 900 blocks of Knob Hill Avenue have also filed lawsuits against SCE. Johnson said that while his firm, Grassini & Wrinkle, is not representing the neighbors, several of them were in the courtroom when the verdict was read.
"They were very emotional ... It was a big deal," Johnson said. "I think Edison really put all their eggs in one basket to try to defeat this case, hoping it would make all the other cases go away."
SCE is reviewing the verdict and will review its options, according to the statement from the company. It may appeal the decision.
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