A new lawsuit has been filed against Hundred Acre Winery and its owner, Jayson Woodbridge, for damages that resulted from the 2025 Pickett Fire, which started at his property.
Stephen Lam/S.F. Chronicle
In August, Napa Valley prosecutors filed criminal charges against a winery worker they alleged caused the 2025 Pickett Fire, which burned 6,800 acres. Juan Luis Gutierrez Marfil, an independent contractor employed by Hundred Acre Winery, where the Pickett Fire originated, faces one felony charge of recklessly causing a fire of a structure and forest. At his September arraignment, Marfil pleaded not guilty.
But for the dozens of wineries and grape growers impacted by the fire, this wasn’t justice: They wanted to recoup their roughly $90 million in losses. Now, Singleton Schreiber, the San Diego law firm that claims it’s the country’s largest fire litigation practice, has sued Hundred Acre, its owner Jayson Woodbridge, and Marfil for damages.
The complaint, filed Nov. 5 in Napa County Superior Court, argues that Woodbridge — not just Marfil — is liable for the fire and demands a jury trial. Among the dozen or so plaintiffs are Robert Foley Vineyards, wine corporation Jackson Family Wines and Neal Family Vineyards. Singleton Schreiber said it will file more complaints for its other clients, like Robert Craig Winery and Summit Lake Vineyards, in the coming days.
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The Pickett Fire ignited on Aug. 21, 2025, at 2339 Pickett Road in Calistoga, the home of cult Cabernet producer Hundred Acre, whose wine sells for upward of $700 a bottle. According to the charging documents, Marfil “admitted to Cal Fire Law Enforcement” that he disposed of “hot ashes into a burn pile, which caused the Pickett Fire.” The fire caused at least $65 million in agricultural damage, according to the preliminary assessment survey Napa County conducted roughly a week later. The survey reported damage to nearly 1,500 acres, or more than 3% of Napa Valley’s farmland.
Before the charges were filed, Woodbridge settled with one winery: PlumpJack Group, co-founded by Gov. Gavin Newsom, which lost 60 of its 129 acres of vines at the company’s Oso Vineyard in the remote Pope Valley region.
A group of Cal Fire firefighters are seen walking on a dozer line during the Pickett Fire in 2025, which burned 6,800 acres in Napa Valley.
Stephen Lam/S.F. Chronicle
In August, Singleton Schreiber lawyer Paul Starita told the Chronicle that the felony charge would not change the firm’s legal strategy with Woodbridge. “The fire started on their property by a contractor that they hired,” he said. Singleton Schreiber did not immediately respond to a request for comment.
The lawsuit states that the disposal of the ashes “violated multiple statutes, regulations and Napa County ordinances, as well as basic common sense given the hot, dry and windy conditions.” The complaint calls the actions “negligent, reckless and intentional,” and claims that smoke from the fire “catastrophically impacted the local wine-making industry by decimating (the plaintiffs’) 2025 grape harvest.”
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Smoke taint occurs when wildfire smoke penetrates the grapes, leaving chemical compounds that produce unpleasant, smoke-like flavors in finished wines. High-end wineries typically don’t produce wines with smoke-tainted grapes, as it could damage their reputation; numerous wineries and growers located within Napa’s Howell Mountain wine region, say they lost their entire 2025 crop in the Pickett Fire.
Sam Singer, a spokesperson for Hundred Acre, denies that the plaintiffs’ grapes sustained significant smoke damage. “Based on our review of the evidence, they sustained little or no smoke damage to support their claims,” he said.
Singer said that the winery “categorically denies the allegations in the lawsuit,” which he called “an economic ploy from vintners who are struggling with the decline in demand and consumption.” The Napa County District Attorney’s office has not filed any charges against Woodbridge or Hundred Acre.
Three other wine companies — including Outpost Wines, a prestigious Cabernet brand owned by French conglomerate AXA Millésimes — sued Woodbridge in early August after settlement negotiations failed.
A plane is seen dropping fire retardant on the Pickett Fire in 2025. Jayson Woodbridge denies the claims in the Nov. 5 lawsuit.
Scott Strazzante/S.F. Chronicle
Much of Singleton Schreiber’s argument centers on a wedding Woodbridge planned to host at his property in the following days. The lawsuit argues that commercial weddings are, barring a few exceptions, prohibited at wineries in Napa County and that Woodbridge “did not possess a special permit” to host a wedding. A week after the fire, Singer told the Chronicle that the wedding was a “family gathering,” not the type of commercial event that is barred.
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“The gathering was a private party for staff and family on private property,” Singer reiterated on Monday. “Napa County issued no citation against Hundred Acre or Woodbridge concerning that gathering.”
The lawsuit further alleges that Woodbridge instructed an employee to “pile up and ignite combustible debris” — which Marfil had collected ahead of the wedding “to ensure (the property) looked nice for the wedding guests” — in a burn area. “When that employee refused, Woodbridge directed Marfil to do so,” the complaint says. Marfil then collected hot ashes from a newly tempered fireplace and used them to ignite the debris pile, according to the filing. The lawsuit also notes that CalFire suspended residential burn permits due to weather conditions. “Predictably,” the complaint states, “the fire quickly got out of control amid the hot wind and dry vegetation, rapidly escaping from the intended burn area.”
The smoke, “which persisted for days after the fire had been extinguished,” according to the lawsuit, caused significant business losses; the fire also allegedly damaged many wineries’ branding and market share. “Because (they) were prevented from releasing a 2025 vintage, consumers assume the winery is floundering or in decline,” the complaint says. “It will take years to rebuild the pre-fire goodwill and market share of (their) businesses.”
The lawsuit emphasizes that Woodbridge “knew, firsthand, the acute fire risk” in the area because his property suffered damage during the 2020 Glass Fire. In 2022, Woodbridge sued Napa County, claiming the government’s regulations — forcing him to replant trees after that fire — would increase the fire risk to his property. The Pickett Fire complaint points to several other disputes Woodbridge has had with Napa County and argues that Woodbridge “does not believe its ordinances and regulations should apply to him and routinely flouts their requirements.”
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Singer said Hundred Acre plans to “vigorously challenge” the lawsuit in court. “We will not be pressured into paying claims we believe lack merit.”
Dining and Cooking