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A jury in Oregon has ordered PacifiCorp to pay more than $42 million to 10 victims of devastating wildfires on Labor Day 2020 \u2014 the latest verdict in litigation that is expected to see the electric utility on the hook for billions in damages.<\/p>\n
Last June, a jury\u00a0found PacifiCorp liable<\/a>\u00a0for negligently failing to cut power to its 600,000 customers despite warnings from top fire officials. The jury determined it acted negligently and willfully and should have to pay punitive and other damages \u2014 a decision that applied to a class including the owners of up to 2,500 properties.<\/p>\n Tuesday\u2019s decision was the third verdict applying last year\u2019s ruling to a specific set of plaintiffs. Last month, a jury awarded $85 million to a different set of nine plaintiffs, and the jury that initially found PacifiCorp liable awarded about $90 million to 17 homeowners named as plaintiffs in that case.<\/p>\n Thousands of other class members are still awaiting trials, though the sides are also expected to engage in mediation that could lead to a settlement.<\/p>\n PacifiCorp, a unit of Warren Buffett\u2019s Berkshire Hathaway<\/a>, is appealing. The utility said in an email Tuesday it has\u00a0settled<\/a>\u00a0hundreds of claims relating to the fires and \u201cremains committed to settling all reasonable claims for actual damages under Oregon law.\u201d<\/p>\n \u201cFor utilities, there is an ominous risk in making future investments in regions where they become the de facto insurers of last resort in a more frequent extreme weather environment,\u201d the statement said.<\/p>\n The fires were\u00a0among the worst natural disasters<\/a>\u00a0in Oregon\u2019s history, killing nine people, burning more than 1,875 square miles (4,856 square kilometers) and destroying upward of 5,000 homes and other structures.<\/p>\n Among those covered by Tuesday\u2019s award is the Upward Bound Camp for Persons with Special Needs in Gates, Oregon, plaintiffs attorneys said in a news release Tuesday. The camp\u2019s executive director testified that a fire began on its property after a power line fell. It destroyed the only indoor spaces that can accommodate campers, leaving the nonprofit organization unable to hold camps during the winter, spring and fall.<\/p>\n The U.S. government is also\u00a0threatening to sue<\/a>\u00a0PacifiCorp to recover nearly $1 billion in costs related to the 2020 wildfires in southern Oregon and northern California, though the company is trying to negotiate a settlement.<\/p>\n Omaha, Nebraska-based Berkshire Hathaway estimates that its utilities face at least $8 billion in claims across all the wildfire lawsuits already filed in Oregon and California, although the damages could be doubled or even tripled in some of those cases and some of the lawsuits don\u2019t list a dollar amount.<\/p>\n<\/div>\nSubscribe to Impact Report, a weekly newsletter on the trends and issues shaping corporate sustainability. Sign up<\/a> for free.<\/div>\n<\/div>\n