Oregon Supreme Court to hear $1B PacifiCorp wildfire case
The Oregon Supreme Court will review a billion-dollar class action lawsuit involving PacifiCorp and survivors of the 2020 Labor Day Fires.Summary
The Oregon Supreme Court has agreed to hear arguments on November 3 regarding a massive class action lawsuit involving PacifiCorp and survivors of the 2020 Labor Day Fires. The case follows a June 2023 Multnomah County jury verdict that found PacifiCorp liable for several fires, leading to over $1.2 billion in awards for hundreds of victims across various "mini trials."
The legal battle intensified after the Oregon Court of Appeals ruled in April that the original verdict was flawed due to prejudicial jury instructions. Specifically, the appeals court found that instructing the jury to assume evidence applied to all class members was legally erroneous. This ruling threatened to overturn all previous awards and legal decisions.
The Supreme Court's review will focus on whether those jury instructions were appropriate and whether the appeals court's decision to reverse the verdict was correct. While lawyers for the wildfire victims expressed gratitude for the court's swift timeline, PacifiCorp stated they expect the appeals court's decision to be upheld.
(Source：Salem Statesman Journal)