PacifiCorp wildfire liability case faces Oregon Supreme Court review

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PacifiCorp wildfire case review

Highlights

On Tuesday, the Oregon Supreme Court heard arguments on reinstating $1.25 billion in awards against PacifiCorp over liability for four 2020 wildfires.
The April 8 Oregon Court of Appeals ruling set aside both the initial liability verdict and $1.25 billion in damages, citing class certification and evidence issues.
PacifiCorp has settled about $2.3 billion with wildfire claimants outside the class and paid $575 million to the U.S. government for six wildfires on federal land.

Appeal focuses on class-action verdict structure

As reported by Reuters, the Oregon Supreme Court is hearing arguments on Tuesday over whether to revive a verdict tied to four 2020 wildfires that claimants say were caused by PacifiCorp equipment and the utility's failure to cut power during a Labor Day weekend windstorm.

Oregon residents and business owners are seeking to overturn an appeals court decision that erased $1.25 billion in awards against the Portland-based utility. Claimants argue PacifiCorp's safety practices were deficient, citing allegations that it failed to insulate power lines, trim trees and vegetation, or prepare a plan to proactively shut off power before conditions worsened.

PacifiCorp denies negligence and argues the claims should not proceed on a group basis because the Santiam Canyon, Echo Mountain Complex, South Obenchain and 242 fires were separated by more than 100 miles. In the first phase of the litigation in 2023, jurors found the company at fault for all four fires after being told they may assume trial evidence applied to all class members.

Judge Steffan Alexander later supervised a series of mini-trials that awarded 201 plaintiffs the $1.25 billion, including damages for emotional distress. But on April 8, the Oregon Court of Appeals set aside both the liability verdict and the judgments, saying much of the evidence related to specific fires and specific ignition issues, particularly within the Santiam Canyon blaze, and suggesting class certification should be reconsidered.

Financial and regulatory stakes extend beyond Oregon

How the state Supreme Court rules could determine whether the original judgments are reinstated or whether the litigation returns to the trial court and effectively starts over. Class actions can reduce legal costs and support larger collective recoveries, while requiring individual suits could slow compensation and alter the scale of payouts.

More than 1,000 additional plaintiffs still await trial. Through June 30, PacifiCorp has reached about $2.3 billion of settlements with wildfire claimants outside the certified class, and in February it agreed to pay $575 million to resolve U.S. government claims over six Oregon and California wildfires that burned federal land.

The litigation is also being watched for its implications for utility regulation and infrastructure investment. Berkshire Chief Executive Greg Abel has said large wildfire payouts threaten the regulatory compact under which utilities accept close government oversight in exchange for the opportunity to earn reasonable returns and invest in systems customers need, even as higher customer rates often face resistance from regulators and politicians.

Our earlier article on Chariot Claims’ $10 million Series A round examined how legal-tech startups are building AI-enabled systems to intake, review, and route large volumes of consumer claims to partner law firms. We noted that the company’s tools are designed to scale high-volume proceedings like mass arbitration by automating eligibility checks and case research, reflecting broader momentum in legal-tech funding.

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