PacifiCorp Reaches $150 Million Settlement With Over 1,400 Oregon Wildfire Victims
PacifiCorp confirmed yesterday that it has reached a $150 million settlement with 1,434 plaintiffs related to the 2020 Labor Day Fires.
More Pacificor 2020 Labor Day Fire Claims Settled
Since 2020, Pacificor has settled approximately 70 percent of individual claims in California and Oregon. Nearly 4,200 wildfire claims were settled for $1.6 billion, and the vast majority of the remaining claims are a part of the James class action litigation.
The latest settlement provides relief to those affected by the Labor Day 2020 fires. It also helps stabilize the company’s financial health, enabling it to continue delivering safe and reliable power to its more than 2 million customers across six states, including 630,000 in Oregon.
George McCoy, an attorney at Warren Allen who represented some of the plaintiffs, said that this matter will not be resolved through targeted or punitive legislation or a drawn-out trial process.
He suggested that the ongoing collaborative problem-solving approach that was used to reach this agreement benefits Oregonians. Swigart Law Group and Spreter | Petiprin law firms also represented some plaintiffs.
Ryan Flynn, Pacific Power president, said, “We are doing the responsible thing, and we are gratified to resolve these claims to provide plaintiffs with some closure to move on.”
Yesterday’s settlement follows other recent settlements between PacifiCorp and over 90 Oregon wineries and timber companies, reached over the past month with the assistance of Judge Karsten H. Rasmussen (Ret.), a retired Lane County Circuit Court Judge.
Almost 20 percent of plaintiffs in the James class action have now settled with PacifiCorp. The outstanding Pacificor claims include:
- Echo Mountain, 242, and South Obenchain fires: PacifiCorp remains willing to settle all outstanding reasonable claims related to these fires.
- Beachie Creek/Santiam Canyon fire: Following the Oregon Department of Forestry’s report concluding that PacifiCorp’s assets did not initiate or contribute to the fire, the company will continue to defend against those claims actively.