CVN screenshot of plaintiff attorney Shawn Rabin of Susman Godfrey delivering his closing argument
Portland, OR - An Oregon state court jury has delivered a massive $305 million verdict in the sprawling litigation over Berkshire Hathaway-owned electric utility PacifiCorp’s liability for widespread wildfires in 2020, and the latest trial along with the 14 other trials to date were all recorded gavel-to-gavel by Courtroom View Network.
The February 25th verdict pushes the total damages awarded to over 145 homeowners and other property owners over $1 billion according to court records. An initial 2023 jury trial found PacifiCorp liable for the historic “Labor Day Fire” and a series of “mini-trials” to determine damages for batches of plaintiffs ensued, with nearly a trial per week scheduled for the rest of 2026.
The 2023 liability trial and most of the subsequent damages trials took place before Multnomah County Judge Steffan Alex, but the overwhelming volume of cases has forced numerous other judges in the county to begin handling trials. Subscribers to CVN’s online trial video library get unlimited on-demand access to gavel-to-gavel records of all PacifiCorp trials to date, along with hundreds of other civil jury trials in a wide range of practice areas featuring many of the top plaintiff and defense attorneys in the country.
The February 25 verdict far outpaces the amounts returned in previous trials. To date individual plaintiffs saw damages awards of between roughly $4 and $6 million, however nine plaintiffs in the most recent trial received awards of roughly $19 million each.
PacifiCorp has appealed the 2023 liability finding, having argued in trial at the time that they did not have a responsibility to deactivate power lines ahead of a predicted wind storm. Property owners argue that decision, along with alleged failure to clear brush and vegetation around power lines, caused the out-of-control blazes. However PacifiCorp maintains they had to keep certain power lines active to support hospitals and first responders during an emergency.
The company blasted the most recent verdict as an “irresponsible outcome” citing a report from the Oregon Department of Forestry that PacifiCorp did not contribute to the fires.
With damages already surpassing $1 billion, PacifiCorp investors and other stakeholders will be closely monitoring the company’s appeal of the underlying 2023 liability verdict. Oregon’s intermediary appeals court heard arguments in early February, with any eventual decision guaranteed to be appealed to the state’s Supreme Court.
To date CVN has been the only news organization to broadcast and record all PacifiCorp trials gavel-to-gavel, including all witness testimony. CVN’s dedicated coverage of these trials will continue throughout 2026, with one currently in progress at this time.
E-mail David Siegel at dsiegel@cvn.com
