PORTLAND, Ore. — Pacific Power, part of PacifiCorp, said Monday it has agreed to a $178 settlement with more than 400 Oregon plaintiffs in the latest multimillion-dollar payout related to the deadly 2020 wildfires that ravaged the state.
In other cases that have gone to trial in the past year, Oregon is ruling multiple verdicts have ordered PacifiCorp to pay hundreds of millions of dollars to the victims. Ongoing lawsuits could leave the country on the hook for billions.
The majority of the 403 plaintiffs in the settlement were affected Monday by the Echo Mountain Complex Fire that devastated Oregon's central coast, said George McCoy, one of the plaintiffs' attorneys, while others were affected by the Santiam Fire that burned east of the state capital was raging. Salem in northwestern Oregon.
In a statement, the utility said it has settled nearly 1,500 claims resulting from the Labor Day 2020 wildfires. The fires were to the worst natural disasters in Oregon history, killing nine people, burning more than 1,800 square miles (4,856 square kilometers) and destroying thousands of homes and other structures.
“We think this is a great way for our clients to rebuild and recover from these traumatic events, and we think this will give them the opportunity to start that process now,” McCoy said.
PacifiCorp is facing more lawsuits over the fires, including one filed last month by dozens of people Wineries and vineyards in Oregon is seeking more than $100 million in damages. In their lawsuit, the wine producers alleged that the utility's decision not to turn off power during the Labor Day storm contributed to fires whose smoke and soot damaged their grapes and reduced their harvest and sales.
Last June, a jury PacifiCorp found liable for negligently failing to turn off power to its 600,000 customers despite warnings from top fire officials. The jury found that it had acted negligently and deliberately and must pay punitive and other damages – a decision that applied to a group including the owners of up to 2,500 properties.
Thousands of other members of the group are still awaiting trial, although the parties are also expected to pursue mediation that could lead to a settlement.
Last week, Oregon utility regulators denied a request from PacifiCorp has tried to limit its liability in wildfire lawsuits.
Under the proposal, the utility would only have been responsible for paying actual economic damages in the form of lawsuit awards. The Oregon Public Utility Commission said the request was too broad and that such a move would ban payouts for non-economic damages such as pain, mental suffering and emotional distress.
