Altadena Homeowners Sue Farmers Insurance, Testing Firm Over Eaton Fire Smoke Claims
Michelle Meyers, Partner at Singleton Schreiber LLP, was featured in an article titled “Altadena Homeowners Sue Farmers Insurance, Testing Firm Over Eaton Fire Smoke Claims,” published by Pasadena Now on March 5, 2026.
The article discusses litigation filed in Los Angeles County Superior Court challenging how smoke contamination was evaluated after the Eaton Fire. The lawsuit names Fire Insurance Exchange, a Farmers Insurance entity, along with Hygiene Technologies International, an environmental testing firm hired to assess fire-related contamination.
According to the lawsuit, the testing process allegedly failed to meet environmental hygiene standards and produced reports that minimized the extent of contamination in affected homes. Plaintiffs claim insurers then relied on those findings when determining whether remediation was necessary and what cleanup costs would be covered.
The case underscores broader concerns raised by wildfire survivors about the accuracy of post-fire environmental testing and the role those evaluations play in insurance claim decisions.
“Farmers Insurance and HygieneTech’s failure to uphold their obligations under the policy is not just a matter of negligence, it’s a case of deliberate bad faith practices that have caused real harm to our clients,” Meyers said in a Feb. 23, 2026 press release announcing the lawsuit.
The matter, Ghazarian v. Fire Insurance Exchange, is currently pending in Los Angeles County Superior Court.
