PacifiCorp Wildfire Lawsuits Head to Oregon Supreme Court Over $1.25 Billion Verdict
On November 3, the Oregon Supreme Court took up the wildfire lawsuits against PacifiCorp, the Berkshire Hathaway-owned utility based in Portland, Multnomah County, Oregon, in a case that could expose the company to tens of billions of dollars in potential damages. Oregon residents and business owners are asking the court to reverse a mid-level appeals court decision that wiped out $1.25 billion in awards against PacifiCorp because of an error in jury instructions.
The claimants say PacifiCorp's equipment and its negligent failure to shut down power lines during a Labor Day weekend windstorm in 2020 caused the Santiam Canyon, Echo Mountain Complex, South Obenchain and 242 fires, damaging more than 2,000 properties. PacifiCorp denies negligence and argues victims should not sue as a group because the fires were more than 100 miles apart. In the first phase of the litigation in 2023, a jury found PacifiCorp at fault for all four fires; on April 8 this year, the Oregon Court of Appeals set aside the liability verdict and the judgments.
Through June 30, PacifiCorp had reached about $2.3 billion in settlements with claimants outside the certified class, and in February it agreed to pay $575 million to resolve U.S. government claims over six wildfires. More than 1,000 additional plaintiffs still await trial. The state supreme court could reinstate the judgments or uphold the appeals court and send the case back.
(Source: Reuters)
Source: Reuters
Published by GSM · USA (original Chinese edition)
Photo: 图：俄勒冈州最高法院大楼。图片来源：Wikimedia Commons（Public domain，M.O. Stevens)。 / Photo: Oregon Supreme Court Building. Source: Wikimedia Commons（Public domain，M.O. Stevens).
