Family sues CPS Energy over fire.

Fire destroyed home in winter storm after power was cut, lawsuit says

A Bexar County family whose house was destroyed by fire during last month’s winter storm is blaming CPS Energy.

In a lawsuit filed Friday, Darla and Dezmon Hogan and their family allege “the intermittent power supply” triggered a Feb. 19 fire in a heating unit in the mobile home in the 4700 block of Legend Falls Drive on the far West Side.

The family seeks damages ranging from $200,000 to $1 million.

Hundreds of thousands of CPS Energy customers were left without power, sometimes for days, during the storm that dropped temperatures below freezing.

The state’s grid operator told CPS Energy and other state utilities to cut power to homes and businesses to avoid a calamitous breakdown of the grid.

The Hogans have sued CPS Energy for negligence, alleging the utility failed to prepare for cold weather despite recommendations from the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission and the

North American Electric Reliability Corp. following a 2011 cold snap that led to rolling blackouts.

CPS Energy officials have said the San Antonio-owned utility had enough electricity to keep customers warm during last month’s frigid temperatures but had to follow the Electric Reliability Council of Texas’ outage orders.

A CPS Energy spokesperson said it does not comment on litigation.

The suit says CPS Energy has a duty to “make reasonable efforts to prevent interruptions of service.”

It’s at least the second lawsuit filed against CPS Energy over the storm.

On March 1, a San Antonio man filed a wrongful death suit against the utility. He alleges his 63-year-old wife died Feb. 17 of extreme cold after the house lost power. The medical examiner’s

office ruled the woman’s probable cause of death as cardiovascular disease and other ailments.

“Texas energy suppliers, including CPS, should have been prepared for this event, but they weren’t, leaving millions of Texans without water, heat, and electricity,” said Marion Reilly, a Corpus Christi lawyer representing

the Hogans. “Texas deserves better. All of the lives lost and homes destroyed could have been avoided had the energy providers done what they needed to do.”

The intermittent power to the Hogans’ residence caused the heater fan to seize, starting the fire, Reilly said.

“Our expert’s initial determination (is) that it was caused by the power outages,” she said.

Emergency Services District 2

Fire Chief Ralph Rodriguez said the fire appeared to be accidental but could not confirm what started it.

The Bexar County Fire Marshal’s office is the lead investigative agency, he said.

Monica Ramos, Bexar County public information officer, said the Fire Marshal’s office was unable to investigate the fire “due to winter storm response effort.”

Joining Darla and Dezmon Hogan as plaintiffs are their three

minor children and her mother. They lost all of their personal property, save for the clothes they were wearing at the time of the fire, the suit says. They add they are entitled to recover damages for mental anguish.

The family is living with the couple’s oldest daughter in Corpus Christi, Reilly said. A Gofundme account set up has so far raised $16,300 for the Hogans.

The couple own a property preservation company and a

trucking company.

CPS Energy may argue that it has governmental immunity from the ligation, Reilly said. But she added the utility was performing a “proprietary function” and therefore is not immune from a lawsuit. The case was filed in state District Court in San Antonio.

Diego Mendoza-moyers and Mark Dunphy contributed to this report.