In what could be the first verdict for private plaintiffs against a utility over a wildfire, a jury in Portland, Oregon, blamed PacifiCorp for a series of wildfires in 2020 and awarded more than $72 million to 17 plaintiffs suing for property damages.
The verdict, reached late Friday and read on Monday by Mulnomah County Circuit Court Judge Steffan Alexander, according to coverage by Courtroom View Network, included about $67.5 million in noneconomic damages against PacifiCorp, which operates Pacific Power and is part of Berkshire Hathaway Energy. For many of the plaintiffs, the jury gave each of them more than the $3 million that Edelson’s Nicholas Rosinia asked for in his closing argument.
