Home » Santa Clarita News » Crime » Court » Law Firm Owen, Patterson & Owen Help Aliso Canyon Natural Gas Leak Survivors Receive $1.8 Billion Settlement
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Law Firm Owen, Patterson & Owen Help Aliso Canyon Natural Gas Leak Survivors Receive $1.8 Billion Settlement

Nearly six years following the worst methane gas leak in United States history, law firm Owen, Patterson & Owen’s clients are among the residents of Porter Ranch that received a $1.8 billion settlement from Southern California Gas Company (SoCal Gas).

The Los Angeles based utility company and the primary provider of natural gas to Southern California, SoCal Gas discovered gas escaping from a well within the Aliso Canyon underground storage facility that forced thousands of people from their homes in 2015. 

Since the discovery of the gas leak, thousands of Porter Ranch residents, including many children, have reported headaches, dizziness, severe coughs, nosebleeds, rashes, vomiting, earaches, vision problems, gum swelling and increased anxiety, as well as neurological, gastrointestinal and other respiratory health issues due to exposure to a litany of cancer-causing chemicals, according to OPO officials.

“Our clients have endured this process for the past six years, and we are thrilled with the results,” said Susan A. Owen, a senior partner at the law firm of Owen, Patterson & Owen (OPO) and a member of the Plaintiff Steering Committee, a small group of lawyers who spearheaded the litigation. 

OPO represented approximately 3,800 plaintiffs in this historic settlement after over 8,000 families were forced to evacuate their homes and their children to relocate to safer schools. 

“With this announcement, Porter Ranch residents and workers can begin laying the new foundation for their hard-fought and long-awaited journey back to normalcy,” said Owen. “I am so proud of the unwavering, years-long dedication our litigation team has exhibited, which involved everything from helping clients who were injured from the toxic gas fumes find the right doctors to locating specialists for other victims.”

The work included more than 585 depositions and intense fighting on every front in this heavily litigated case, according to OPO officials.

Founded in 1977 and located in Valencia, the law firm of Owen, Patterson & Owen is recognized by the most prestigious organizations in the field of law, honoring the top 1 percent of the 1.3 million lawyers in the country. The firm has recovered hundreds of millions of dollars for families and individuals who have been personally injured, according to OPO. 


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Law Firm Owen, Patterson & Owen Help Aliso Canyon Natural Gas Leak Survivors Receive $1.8 Billion Settlement

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About Rachel Matta

Born and raised in Santa Clarita, Rachel Matta has always had a love for writing and media. The first time she ever smiled was actually while she was laying next to her mom as she flipped through the pages of a magazine. Upon graduating from high school in 2019, she chose to major in both journalism and political science at College of the Canyons with the intention of concentrating in news reporting. She began her journey at KHTS as a news intern in the summer of 2020 and officially joined the newsroom in the spring of 2021, intending to move forward with compassion and inquisition.