A survivor of the 2017 Tubbs Fire and a Healdsburg lawyer who advocates for wildfire victims have won a ruling from a judge in San Francisco allowing them to move forward with a lawsuit against the California Department of Insurance, claiming it allowed unlicensed out-of-state insurance adjusters to work illegally in the state in the wake of recent wildfires.

Santa Rosa homeowner Jeff Sengstack and Sonoma County attorney Jon Eisenberg, both represented by Farella Braun + Martel, claim that former Insurance Commissioner Dave Jones violated state law in 2018 by refusing to hold a legally required hearing on their complaints that thousands of out-of-state adjusters weren’t properly licensed or supervised while working in the state. According to their complaint, insurance companies brought in thousands of independent contractors to process claims in the wake of recent wildfires. The complaint claims that the insurance companies couldn’t provide the type of supervision to contractors required for them to operate under the insurer’s own license.