ALBUQUERQUE — New Mexico's Attorney General Hector Balderas has filed a motion for lead plaintiff status in the state's lawsuit against Pacific Gas and Electric Company (PG&E) as part of an effort to recover $4 million in losses to the state's public pension fund.
According to Balderas, the state's largest public pension fund suffered after PG&E's stock fell due to misstatements and omissions over the safety of the company's electrical lines which caused at least a dozen wildfires in Northern California last year.
“Our public employees' economic security depends on the stability of our public pensions, and I will do everything I can to protect these funds and recover losses from companies that do damage to them by putting profits over people” Balderas said in a statement. “At a time when these funds are facing extreme solvency issues, we must work to ensure that any losses to these funds are recovered for taxpayers and New Mexican families.”
The attorney general also alleges PG&E concealed that it was out of compliance with state regulations for its transmission equipment.