The verdict is the third consecutive win for plaintiffs in the certified class action, which collectively have awarded $220 million for 36 of the class members.  

A third jury in Portland, Oregon has awarded more than $42 million in compensation to ten survivors of the wildfires on Labor Day 2020. The total award to the ten plaintiffs is $42,412,119.00, consisting of $5.933 million in economic damages (which are doubled) and $23.25 million in non-economic damages, both of which are increased by 25% for punitive damages.

The verdict comes on the heels of a trial just last month, where the jury awarded $85 million to a different set of nine plaintiffs. This series of trials—which exclusively concern fire survivors’ damages—follow a class-action verdict last year that found PacifiCorp, a subsidiary of Berkshire Hathaway, liable to an entire class of fire survivors for causing the fires. That jury also awarded punitive damages to the class.  That jury also awarded $92 million to 17 plaintiffs.

To date, the three juries have returned verdicts of $220 million to 36 plaintiffs. Additional damage trials for the thousands of remaining class members will continue moving forward.

During the trial, each survivor—as well as a representative from the Upward Bound Camp for Persons with Special Needs in Gates, Oregon—shared their stories from Labor Day 2020 and after. Plaintiff Christine Grom described how a live power line came crashing down on her property on Labor Day 2020, and how she then fled through fire and smoke that night—only to spend two years displaced from her home after she lost everything. Plaintiff Carl Seyboldt described how he was forced to set his two horses and pony loose in desperation as the fire threatened his home. The Executive Director of the Upward Bound Camp for Persons with Special Needs described how the fire began on the Camp’s premises after a power line fell. She then explained how the fires destroyed the Camp’s only indoor spaces that can accommodate campers, leaving the nonprofit organization without the ability to hold camps during the winter, spring and fall months. And the jury viewed the videotaped testimony of Delores Stowell, who passed away a year and half after the fires but had her testimony recorded in the weeks before she died so that she could hold PacifiCorp accountable for burning down her home and everything in it.

Last year, a Portland jury found PacifiCorp liable for causing the Labor Day fires, finding after a seven-week trial that the corporation acted negligently, grossly negligently, recklessly and willfully against the entire class, which PacifiCorp estimated included 5,000 people. That verdict also established that each subsequent damages award would be increased by 25% for punitive damages against the company. Plaintiffs and the class are represented by the Court-appointed Lead Counsel: Stoll Berne, Keller Rohrback LLP, and Edelson PC. They were assisted by Eugene-based Johnson Johnson Lucas & Middleton, PC.

“PacifiCorp for years prioritized profits over the safety of people in the communities it serves. In the five years before the fires, PacifiCorp paid its owners at Berkshire Hathaway more than $3 billion in dividends. That was money PacifiCorp should have used to upgrade its equipment and operations. Instead, the survivors of its fires are suffering the consequences of PacifiCorp’s reckless and willful disregard for their communities. We are proud to advocate on behalf of the survivors and to help them hold PacifiCorp accountable,” said Cody Berne, lead trial attorney for Stoll Berne in the case.

The case is officially named Jeanyne James, et al. v. PacifiCorp et al., No. 20CV33885 (Multnomah County Circuit Court, Oregon).

Further information about this procedure and the class action trial is available at www.PacifiCorpFireLitigation.com.

To seek additional information, fire survivors may contact Lead Counsel by dialing 503-217-6722 or 888-607-5808, or by emailing PacifiCorpFireLitigation@edelson.com.

Verdict follows classwide liability findings and continues path to billions of dollars in compensation for fire victims as more trials are set in the coming months.

A jury in Portland, Oregon awarded $85 million in compensation from PacifiCorp to nine survivors of the fires that swept across Oregon on Labor Day 2020. The verdict, which consisted of more than $6 million in economic and $56 million in non-economic damages, translates to an award of more than $85 million after the doubling of economic damages and the addition of punitive damages of 25% that are automatically applied given the jury’s verdict in the first phase of the case. This verdict is the first trial exclusively on individuals’ damages after a historic class action verdict last year that established that PacifiCorp, a subsidiary of Berkshire Hathaway, was liable to the entire class for causing the devastating fires. It is the second jury verdict awarding damages to injured class members, and maintains a trajectory which, according to PacifiCorp, represents more than $25 billion in total damages to the class.

Through three days of testimony, the victims of the Labor Day Fire recounted the horrific stories of fleeing the fires and the losses they suffered. One survivor, Scott Johnson, described how he and his wife, Mary Beth Carden, leapt into the river beside their property and hid for hours while the fire consumed their hand-built home. Another, Cory Staniforth, rushed back to his farm to attempt to save his penned-in chickens and livestock before realizing that the fire had encircled him. He was forced to run through “walls of flame” to escape back to his wife, who was nine months pregnant at the time. Frank King, a 101-year-old veteran of World War II, described losing 98 years of history and memories in the fire.

This trial concerned only damages to the victims. Last year, a Portland jury determined that PacifiCorp was liable to an entire class of people for causing the Labor Day fires, finding after an intensive, seven-week trial that PacifiCorp acted negligently, grossly negligently, recklessly, and willfully with regard to the entire class. The ruling paved the way to trials limited to the damages suffered by the other members of the class— according to PacifiCorp, some 5,000 victims—of which this was the first. The next damages trial is set to begin February 26, and will seek compensation for another nine survivors of the fires, as well as the Upward Bound Camp for Individuals with Special Needs. The Camp operates at the old Gates School, on the site where a power line started a fire on the night of Labor Day 2020. The third damages trial is set for April 22, 2024.

Plaintiffs and the class are represented by the Court-appointed Lead Counsel: Stoll Berne, Keller Rohrback LLP, and Edelson PC. They were assisted by Eugene-based Johnson Johnson Lucas & Middleton, PC.

Plaintiff’s Counsel provided the following statements:

● “This was an incredibly difficult trial for our clients, and we are so grateful to the jury for its time, its service, and its thoughtful verdict. For days, these victims were forced to recount their traumatic experiences just surviving the wildfires caused by PacifiCorp, all while PacifiCorp sought to diminish their experiences. We are so proud of the strength and resilience of our clients, and thankful to the jury for holding PacifiCorp accountable for what happened on Labor Day 2020—something it will never do itself,” said Nick Rosinia, the chair of Edelson PC’s trial team.

● “We are committed to getting as much compensation as possible for Labor Day fire survivors as expeditiously as possible. Today’s powerful verdict is another important step in that direction,” said Matthew Preusch, a partner at Keller Rohrback LLP.

● “As a native Oregonian, it has been a tremendous honor to advocate on behalf of survivors of PacifiCorp’s fires. Our community and the entire state needed to hear the facts about what PacifiCorp did to the survivors and their families. This trial was about these brave people. It was also about a corporation and its owners at Berkshire Hathaway who refuse to take any accountability. We thank the jury for holding PacifiCorp accountable,” said Cody Berne, lead trial attorney for Stoll Berne in the case.

The case is officially named Jeanyne James, et al. v. PacifiCorp et al., No. 20CV33885 (Multnomah County Circuit Court, Oregon).

Further information about this procedure and the class action trial is available at www.PacifiCorpFireLitigation.com.

To seek additional information, fire survivors may contact Lead Counsel by dialing 503- 217-6722 or 888-607-5808, or by emailing PacifiCorpFireLitigation@edelson.com.

Press may contact press@edelson.com for additional information.

About Lead Counsel

Edelson PC

From cases involving environmental pollution, wildfires, the opioid epidemic and NCAA head injuries, to exposing plaintiff’s lawyer Tom Girardi’s multi-decade Ponzi scheme, Edelson is consistently recognized as a leader in high-stakes class and mass action plaintiff’s work. As lead counsel, the firm has recovered over $5 billion in settlements and judgments, with its overall settlements and judgments surpassing $45 billion. Edelson PC has offices in Chicago, San Francisco, Los Angeles, Boulder, CO, Washington, D.C., and Ann Arbor, Michigan.

Keller Rohrback L.L.P.

Keller Rohrback, with offices in Seattle, Portland, Phoenix, Oakland, Missoula, New York, and Santa Barbara, serves as lead and co-lead counsel in class actions throughout the country. The team of environmental litigators has a long history of successful representation in a wide range of important environmental litigation. They have helped protect people and the environment across the country, with judgments and settlements on behalf of clients exceeding $75 billion dollars.

Stoll Berne

Stoll Berne, based in Portland, Oregon, represents plaintiffs nationwide in complex environmental, securities and other class action lawsuits. Recently, Stoll Berne represented the State of Oregon in obtaining a $698 million settlement in a PCB contamination lawsuit against Monsanto.