The LA Fire Justice Coalition announced that they have filed a wrongful death lawsuit against Southern California Edison, Edison International, and Genasys Inc. for the death of Stacey Darden, who died in the Eaton Fire in January in the city of Altadena.

The law firms of Douglas Boxer and Watts and LA Fire Justice filed the lawsuit in Geraldine “Gerry” Darden, sister of the victim.

“We are not litigious. Our family thought deeply about the decision to file a lawsuit. Edison caused this fire and Genasys never warned of the danger,” Gerry Darden said at a press conference.

“My sister followed the evacuation orders to the letter the night of the Eaton Fire. The truth is, if these companies had done their duty, Stacey would be alive today,” she said.

According to LA Fire Justice and attorneys, on January 7, 2025, Southern California Edison and Edison International started the Eaton Fire, which killed 19 people, injured countless others, and devastated Altadena, Pasadena, and parts of the Sierra Madre.

They said the LA Fire Justice legal team was the first to identify an abandoned transmission line as the source of the fire.

Stacey Darden lived at 2528 Marengo Avenue in Altadena, about five blocks west of Lake Avenue.

On the night of January 7 and into the early morning of January 8, Stacey Darden and her sister Gerry closely followed news reports about evacuation zones.

Eaton fire to confirm that Stacey and her home were safe and not within any evacuation zone.

While her neighbors east of Lake Avenue received an evacuation notice and two separate evacuation orders, residents west of Altadena, including Stacey Darden, were led to believe they were safe where they were and that there was no need to evacuate.

Stacey Darden's last cell phone activity is believed to have occurred around 3:30 a.m. on January 8.

The only communication regarding the evacuation of her area,A mandatory evacuation order was not issued or sent to her cell phone until 5:43 a.m. on January 8. Eighteen of the nineteen Altadena residents who died in the Eaton Fire lived west of Lake Avenue. “Stacey did everything our community asks of a responsible neighbor during a wildfire: she stayed informed, followed the rules, and trusted that if she was in danger, she would be notified to evacuate,” stated attorney Mikal Watts.

“Instead, Southern California Edison caused this fire, and Genasys excluded Stacey and her neighbors west of Lake Avenue from the designated alert zone. By the time she finally received the evacuation order on her phone, it was too late.”

“This is not a tragedy of bad luck, but a tragedy of corporate failure, and that is why we filed this lawsuit,” Watts concluded.

Stacey E. Darden was born on May 19, 1970, in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, and her family moved to Southern California in 1978. Her intellectual acuity was evident from an early age, and she participated in the gifted program at Pomelo Elementary School.

Later, she attended Elliott Middle School in Altadena and Pasadena High School.

Her lifelong love of libraries stemmed, in part, from spending almost all of her free time at the Altadena library, where she and her sister would study and read. She graduated from Bryn Mawr College with a degree in Political Science and pursued a career in library and information science, including work experience at the Caltech library. Stacey was an avid consumer of political and current affairs news. She read the LA Times daily and was a regular listener of local radio stations such as KPCC/LAist 98.3, KCRW, KJLH 102.3, and NPR. She was only 54 years old at the time of her death. “When I joined LA Fire Justice, I promised this community that we would hold those responsible for the devastation caused by the Eaton Fire accountable,” said Chris Holden, executive director of LA Fire Justice.

“We cannot bring back the lives lost, but we can fight to ensure this never happens again. Filing this lawsuit is a critical step toward justice, change, and accountability,” she added.

Gabriela G. Ornelas, a spokesperson for Southern California Edison, said of the lawsuit, “We understand the tremendous impact on the community and express our deepest condolences to all those affected by the Southern California wildfires.”

She added: “We are reviewing the lawsuit and will respond through legal channels.”

LA Fire Justice is a coalition of experienced wildfire attorneys,World-renowned specialists in the origin and causes of fires, insurance specialists, and community leaders committed to seeking justice for victims of preventable wildfires.

It is led by Executive Director Chris Holden, attorney Doug Boxer, trial attorney Mikal Watts, and consumer advocate Erin Brockovich.

This is not the first lawsuit LA Fire Justice has filed on behalf of victims of the January fires in Los Angeles. They filed one on behalf of Walt Butler and another on behalf of Luis and Denise Gonzalez.

Multiple lawsuits have been filed on behalf of victims of the January 2025 Los Angeles fires, including at least one class-action lawsuit on behalf of 3,300 victims of the Palisades Fire.