PacifiCorp has filed a long-awaited appeal to a class action ruling that has so far awarded millions of dollars to people harmed by wildfires in 2020.
In 2023, a jury found PacifiCorp was reckless and acted in “gross negligence” in starting multiple wildfires across Oregon during Labor Day Weekend in 2020. The company failed to cut power to customers during a windstorm despite warnings from Oregon fire officials.
In addition to the 17 plaintiffs who sued the company in that case, the jury found a broader class of thousands of people can bring additional claims against PacifiCorp for those wildfires. So far, separate juries have awarded about $315 million to more than 50 people through individual trials. Those trials are ongoing, and the company could ultimately be liable for billions of dollars in damages.
In its appeal filed Tuesday, PacifiCorp argued that thousands of people and businesses across the state should have never been grouped together into a class-action certification. The company also contends there is no proof showing it is at fault for causing fires across multiple regions, including in the Santiam Canyon, Southern Oregon, and the coast. PacifiCorp has repeatedly made these arguments in court.
PacifiCorp is owned by the trillion-dollar multinational conglomerate Berkshire Hathaway, and it’s the parent company of Pacific Power, a utility that supplies electricity to more than 620,000 Oregonians across the state.
“(C)lass treatment is not a good fit for managing wildfire claims, and the company strongly believes it is important for the Oregon Court of Appeals to review the issues raised on appeal,” Ryan Flynn, Pacific Power president, said in a statement.
Plaintiffs attorneys said they were not surprised by the appeal, or the arguments within it.
“PacifiCorp’s arguments on appeal are the same ones they have been making and losing for years,” attorney Cody Berne said in an email to OPB.
FILE - The charred husk of a car in a neighborhood burned in the Santiam Fire near Gates, Ore., Sept. 9, 2020.
Bradley W. Parks / OPB
PacifiCorp’s appeal comes as the company is pushing lawmakers in multiple states, including Oregon, to pass legislation that would protect it from some lawsuits when its equipment sparks wildfires.
The appeal also comes two weeks after the Oregon Department of Forestry published a report saying the agency did not find evidence showing the utility’s equipment started the deadly Santiam Canyon fires, refuting earlier reports by U.S. Forest Service workers who were first on scene.
The utility cites the forestry department’s report as one of the reasons it believes this civil case and subsequent judgements should be revoked, saying it “completely exonerated PacifiCorp.”
The timing of PacifiCorp’s appeal is likely due to court processes determining appeal deadlines. Defendants typically have 30 days after a judgement or order to file a notice of appeal. Attorneys representing wildfire victims said PacifiCorp has repeatedly delayed this process through court filings. PacifiCorp attorneys said they have followed typical court procedure.
In a press release, PacifiCorp said it expects the Oregon Court of Appeals to address its arguments in 2026.
Editor’s note: This story has been updated to include responses from PacifiCorp attorneys on court procedures.
