Oregon appeals court hands big victory to PacifiCorp in wildfire class action suit

By TED SICKINGER/The Oregonian/OregonLive

The Oregon Court of Appeals has ruled in favor of PacifiCorp in a long-running class action lawsuit stemming from Oregon’s historic 2020 wildfires, effectively reversing damage awards that have already climbed past $1 billion.

The three-member appellate panel ruled Wednesday that Multnomah County Circuit Court Judge Steffan Alexander erred in the instructions provided to the jury that heard the lawsuit against the Portland-based utility.

He told jurors that they could assume the evidence presented at trial, including about the cause of four separate wildfires that started during Labor Day weekend 2020, applied to all members of the class, which includes thousands of separate victims spread around the state.

The jury in 2023 found the Portland-based utility grossly negligent and reckless for failing to turn off the power amid a severe windstorm during Labor Day weekend, causing four catastrophic blazes: the Echo Mountain Complex, 242, Santiam Canyon and South Obenchain fires. That finding of liability and causation was applied to all 2,500 members of the class, with juries determining damages for individual plaintiffs in an ongoing series of mini-trials.

“We conclude that, given this particular class action proceeding … that instruction was legally erroneous, because certain evidence at trial, particularly related to causation, did not necessarily apply to every class member,” the court said. “We further conclude that giving the instruction was prejudicial to PacifiCorp. Consequently, we reverse and remand.”

In their order sending the case back to the lower court, the appellate judges seemed to question whether a single class of plaintiffs was appropriate in the case at all, advising the lower court that it had the authority to reconsider that question.

It remains unclear how the lawsuit will proceed. It may have to be retried as four separate actions — one for each fire in question — or if PacifiCorp has its way, as individual trials for each plaintiff.

Plaintiffs’ attorneys could also appeal the appellate ruling to the Oregon Supreme Court.

Theodore Boutrous, a prominent California lawyer who argued PacifiCorp’s appeal, said step one for the utility will be to ask the lower court to set aside more than $1 billion in damage awards entered in the case to date, as the appeals court ruling means they are effectively eliminated. Likewise, it will move to stop the ongoing damage trials queued up between now and March of 2028.

Step two, he said, is “we would go back to the trial judge and argue that no class should be certified, certainly not a class covering all four fires.

“I think now we’re in a position to have a process that’s fair to everyone,” he added.

The appellate decision is a stinging blow to thousands of wildfire victims who have been waiting nearly 6 years to resolve their damage claims against the utility. Meanwhile, it represents a major victory for PacifiCorp and its Oregon subsidiary, Pacific Power, which have raised the specter of bankruptcy as damage awards continued to mount.

The plaintiffs’ lawyers, meanwhile, called Wednesday’s decision “a procedural setback, not a judgment on PacifiCorp’s conduct.”

A statement from the three firms, Keller Rohrbach LLP, Stoll Berne and Edelson PC, said the appeals court didn’t weigh in on whether PacifiCorp started the fires, was negligent, or harmed their clients.

“A jury found all of that, and nothing in this ruling suggests the jury got it wrong,” the statement said. “What the court addressed was a single jury instruction, charting several paths forward — including fixing that instruction and trying the case again. PacifiCorp will not escape having to answer to wildfire survivors.”

That remains to be seen. PacifiCorp would have new evidence to present if the case is retried, particularly with respect to the Santiam Canyon fires. The company points to an investigation released last year by the Oregon Department of Forestry that concluded the wind-driven Beachie Creek fire, a lightning-caused blaze that began in a remote stretch of woods near Mount Jefferson, caused the destruction in the Santiam Canyon, not PacifiCorp’s power lines.

That report was not part of the record at the original trial but could be influential to jurors in a new proceeding.

PacifiCorp has also argued that non-economic damages — which compensate victims for pain and suffering — are contrary to Oregon law. Those damages account for about two-thirds of the total damage awards in the class action suit to date. Boutrous made that argument in front of the appellate panel, but judges did not consider it. The company would press the point in any retrial.

“PacifiCorp is sensitive to the profound losses experienced by members of our communities,” the company said in an emailed statement. “There are no winners in wildfire; however, the Court’s decision supports PacifiCorp’s longstanding belief that this process was prejudicial and not appropriate for managing wildfire litigation. The company remains open to resolving reasonable claims and will continue to defend against unsupported claims.”

The company, a subsidiary of Omaha-based Berkshire Hathaway, has separately agreed to pay more than $2.2 billion to settle nearly 4,200 claims arising from Labor Day 2020 wildfires in Oregon and California, including victims who were originally part of the class action.

This story was originally published on April 8, 2026 by The Oregonian/OregonLive.