A state appeals court has delivered a significant victory for PacifiCorp, the utility company owned by Warren Buffett’s Berkshire Hathaway, in litigation stemming from catastrophic Oregon wildfires that occurred in 2020.
The Oregon Court of Appeals in Salem determined Wednesday that a lower court judge made an error when allowing the wildfire lawsuit to move forward as a class-action case. This ruling could substantially decrease PacifiCorp’s financial exposure, which Berkshire Hathaway has projected might reach tens of billions of dollars.
The legal battle centers on accusations from Oregon property owners and businesses who claim PacifiCorp acted negligently by keeping power lines energized during dangerous wind conditions over Labor Day weekend in 2020. These alleged failures reportedly sparked four separate fires — the Santiam Canyon, Echo Mountain Complex, South Obenchain, and 242 fires — which collectively damaged over 2,000 properties.
PacifiCorp, headquartered in Portland, argued that the trial court judge handling the James litigation made a mistake in combining fires that occurred more than 100 miles apart from each other, along with a fifth fire that the company attributes to lightning strikes rather than power line issues.
The three-member appeals panel took issue with jury instructions that allowed jurors to “assume that the evidence at the trial applies to all class members.”
Judge Anna Joyce explained that much of the testimony focused on “particular issues concerning particular wildfires,” including specific ignition points within the Santiam Canyon fire, which was the largest of the blazes.
Joyce noted in her written opinion that jurors should not “simply ‘assume’ that that evidence applied ‘to all class members.’”
Class-action lawsuits typically enable plaintiffs to seek larger financial recoveries while reducing legal costs compared to individual lawsuits.
The appeals court has sent the case back to Judge Steffan Alexander at the Multnomah County Circuit Court, giving him the opportunity to reconsider whether grouping all plaintiffs into one class remains appropriate given how the litigation has developed.
Attorneys representing the plaintiffs have not yet responded to requests for comment on the ruling.
In a public statement, PacifiCorp acknowledged it remains “sensitive to the profound losses” experienced by fire victims and continues to be willing to resolve legitimate claims.
“There are no winners in wildfire, however the court’s decision supports our longstanding belief that this process was prejudicial and not appropriate for managing wildfire litigation,” the company stated.
The James litigation has involved multiple “mini-trials” that started in January 2024 and were projected to extend through 2028.
Before a February 25 jury decision that granted $305 million to 16 plaintiffs (approximately $19 million per person), plaintiffs had typically received around $5 million each on average, including compensation for non-financial damages like emotional trauma.
Credit rating agency Standard & Poor’s issued a warning last month that it might downgrade PacifiCorp to “junk” bond status if future jury verdicts continue at such high levels.
As of late March, PacifiCorp had negotiated roughly $2.2 billion in settlements with about 4,600 wildfire claimants.
On February 20, the utility agreed to a $575 million payment to settle federal government claims connected to six wildfires across Oregon and California that burned government-owned land.
Berkshire Hathaway acquired PacifiCorp for $5.1 billion in 2006. The utility operates under Berkshire Hathaway Energy, previously led by Greg Abel, who took over as Berkshire’s chief executive on January 1, succeeding Warren Buffett. Buffett continues as chairman of the Omaha, Nebraska-based holding company.
