A jury in Portland, Oregon awarded approximately $62 million in compensation to be paid by PacifiCorp to nine survivors of the fires that swept across Oregon during the Labor Day 2020 storm. We were co-lead counsel for the plaintiffs at the trial. The verdict, which included more than $6 million in economic and $56 million in non-economic damages, translates to an award of more than $84 million after doubling economic damages and applying a punitive damages multiplier. This verdict is the first trial exclusively about survivors’ damages after our historic class action trial verdict last year, where we proved PacifiCorp liable to the entire class for causing the fires. It is the second jury verdict awarding damages to class members and maintains a trajectory which, according to PacifiCorp, represents more than $25 billion in total damages to the class.
This trial concerned only the amount of money PacifiCorp owes each survivor. In Spring 2023, a Portland jury determined that PacifiCorp was liable to an entire class of people for causing the Labor Day fires. The Spring 2023 jury, after a seven-week trial, found that PacifiCorp acted negligently, grossly negligently, recklessly, and willfully. The jury also awarded punitive damages. That verdict paved the way to what could be hundreds of trials to determine the damages PacifiCorp owes to every class member.
RECENT NEWS
- The New York Times, January 24, 2024: Utility Must Pay $85 Million to People Affected by Oregon Wildfires, Jury Rules
- Wildfire Today, January 24, 2024: Another $85 million on PacifiCorp’s liability tab
- Oregon Public Broadcasting, January 24, 2024: Oregon jury awards at least $62 million to 9 survivors of deadly 2020 wildfires
- Statesman Journal, January 24, 2024: Jury awards 9 survivors of 2020 Labor Day fires $85M after verdict against PacifiCorp
- Reuters, January 23, 2024: Berkshire’s PacifiCorp ordered to pay at least $62 million to homeowners for 2020 Oregon wildfire damage
- The Oregonian, January 23, 2024: Jury slaps PacifiCorp with another $62 million damage award for 2020 wildfires
- Yahoo Finance, January 23, 2024: PacifiCorp Fire Victim Who Leapt in River Awarded $9 Million
