The owners of an Alameda County home next door to a house that was destroyed in a PG&E pipeline explosion last year have filed a lawsuit of their own.
Robin Powell and her adult son Kyle filed suit last week in Alameda County Superior Court over the Dec. 11 explosion and fire that completely obliterated their neighbor’s home in the 800 block of East Lewelling Boulevard in the unincorporated community of Ashland.
The suit alleges negligence, the creation of a public and private nuisance, and trespass, among other things. It also names two construction companies as defendants.
“PG&E and its contractors have a long history of negligently harming the state of California and its citizens and this explosion is yet another example that my clients unfortunately got caught up in,” said the Powells’ attorney Randall Strauss. “Living directly next door, this terrified them and left them displaced from their home and they’re seeing compensation that the law provides.”
According to the suit, the explosion was caused by a crew for Mayo Asphalt Milling that was working on the county’s East Lewelling Boulevard upgrade project when it allegedly struck and damaged a gas service line while performing excavation work at about 7:25 a.m.
Mayo Asphalt was a subcontractor to another defendant, Redgwick Construction Co., which was hired by Alameda County to work on the project.
The Mayo Asphalt crew notified PG&E about the damaged pipeline, and the utility then sent workers to isolate the damaged line and stop the flow of gas, which was done by 9:25 a.m.
The Alameda County Fire Department also responded but left the area soon after when a PG&E employee said they didn’t need assistance, according to a National Transportation Safety Board investigation into the blast.
Lawsuit alleges failures before blast
At 9:37 a.m., an explosion leveled the home belonging to one of the Powells’ neighbors.
“PG&E staff who were interviewed by the NTSB claimed that PG&E attempted to knock on residents’ doors once they became aware of a leak, yet neighborhood video footage and plaintiffs’ accounts make clear that PG&E failed to do so and misrepresented this fact to the NTSB,” according to the lawsuit.
“Not only did the County of Alameda negligently lead and perform the roadwork project, in conjunction with Redgwick and Mayo Asphalt, but the County Fire Department further failed to handle the leak appropriately and stay on the scene,” the suit alleges.
A PG&E spokesperson said the company is reviewing the complaint and plans to respond in court but is restricted from making public comments.
“The National Transportation Safety Board’s investigation concerning the December 11, 2025 incident remains ongoing, and as a party to that investigation we are restricted from commenting further at this time under NTSB rules,” said PG&E spokesperson Tamar Sarkissian.
Alameda County Administrator Susan Muranishi didn’t immediately respond to a request for comment, nor did attorneys for the defendants.
The Powells’ suit seeks monetary damages for medical expenses, loss of earnings and other economic losses, among other things.
A lawyer for the Powells’ neighbors, whose home was destroyed, said there are now five separate pending lawsuits filed after the explosion and that he’s working to get them consolidated into one case. The neighbors are the Duenas family.
“The Duenas plaintiffs are aggressively pursuing this case and look forward to a public trial which discloses all the safety violations,” said attorney Niall McCarthy. “This tragedy was completely avoidable. Defendants blame each other and refuse accountability for their actions.”
A case management hearing in the Powell case is scheduled for March 3 in the Hayward Hall of Justice.
