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On April 13, 2016, Division Eight of The Second District Court of Appeal issued an order directing the Los Angeles Superior Court to reconsider its prior order denying an injunction which would have required Southern California Gas Company to continue to paying housing and other relocation benefits for thousands of Porter Ranch residents who were driven from their homes by the massive Aliso Canyon gas leak. The appellate court’s order was issued in response to a petition for emergency relief filed by GMSR partner Tim Coates on behalf of the People of the State of California, working with Los Angeles County Counsel and the Los Angeles City Attorney’s office. The County and City urged the appellate court to safeguard the residents of Porter Ranch by allowing them to remain in the relocation program while Public Health officials conduct testing on the interior of homes to make certain that injuries reported after the leak was sealed were not caused by material deposited in the homes during the almost four month period that the area was inundated with natural gas.

In response to the appellate court’s order, the Los Angeles Superior Court has now set a hearing for April 27, 2016 to determine if the relocation program should be maintained beyond that date in light of ongoing testing.