Berkshire utility urges Oregon appeals court to limit wildfire damage compensation

Glonghui, February 5th｜PacifiCorp on Wednesday urged an Oregon appeals court to overturn a ruling that exposes the Berkshire Hathaway-owned utility to potential wildfire liabilities of $52 billion. The Portland, Oregon-based utility rejected claims from thousands of state residents who accused the company of negligence for failing to shut off power lines during a windstorm over Labor Day weekend in 2020, which allegedly sparked wildfires. PacifiCorp argued that the trial judge erred by allowing victims of four separate wildfires (each more than 100 miles (161 kilometers) apart) to sue together in a class action, including damages from a fifth wildfire that was blamed on lightning. The utility also stated that the judge should not have allowed the jury to award compensation for "non-economic" losses such as emotional distress, as well as property damage. "This is a tragedy," PacifiCorp attorney Theodore Boutrous told a three-judge panel at the Oregon Court of Appeals when discussing the wildfires. "The question is, how do we resolve these cases efficiently? This is not the way to solve the problem." Berkshire acquired PacifiCorp for $5.1 billion in 2006.