Oregon Appeals Court Ruling Threatens $1 Billion in Wildfire Damages for PacifiCorp Victims
An Oregon Court of Appeals has ruled to reverse a lower court's decision in a class-action lawsuit against utility giant PacifiCorp, potentially jeopardizing over $1 billion in damages awarded to victims of the devastating 2020 wildfires. The appellate panel determined that the trial court erred by instructing jurors that evidence from four specific fires applied universally to all class members, noting that certain causation evidence did not necessarily apply to every property owner across the vast geographic area affected. While the original jury found PacifiCorp liable for negligence, the case is now remanded to the trial court. This ruling impacts thousands of plaintiffs and comes as PacifiCorp faces significant financial pressure, having already agreed to pay over $2 billion in settlements for other claims and planning to sell assets to stabilize its finances. Plaintiffs' attorneys view this as a procedural setback rather than a rejection of their core arguments.
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Oregon Appeals Court Ruling Threatens $1 Billion in Wildfire Damages for PacifiCorp Victims
An Oregon Court of Appeals has ruled to reverse a lower court's decision in a class-action lawsuit against utility giant PacifiCorp, potentially jeopardizing over $1 billion in damages awarded to victims of the devastating 2020 wildfires. The appellate panel determined that the trial court erred by instructing jurors that evidence from four specific fires applied universally to all class members, noting that certain causation evidence did not necessarily apply to every property owner across the vast geographic area affected. While the original jury found PacifiCorp liable for negligence, the case is now remanded to the trial court. This ruling impacts thousands of plaintiffs and comes as PacifiCorp faces significant financial pressure, having already agreed to pay over $2 billion in settlements for other claims and planning to sell assets to stabilize its finances. Plaintiffs' attorneys view this as a procedural setback rather than a rejection of their core arguments.
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