Joe Mabel from Seattle, US | Nye Beach neighborhood, Newport, Oregon. | https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Newport_Beach,_OR_-_Nye_Beach_neighborhood_09_%2819311845763%29.jpg | Creative Commons Attribution-Share Alike 2.0 Generic license. | https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/2.0/deed.en
PacifiCorp, an Oregon electric utility, was ordered by a state jury to pay at minimum $62 million to nine homeowners whose properties were damaged by wildfires in 2020. Homeowners were awarded $6.3 million to compensate for property damage and economic loss. $56 million was awarded for items such as emotional distress, pain, and suffering. This trial served as one of two test cases to determine how much PacifiCorp owes Oregon residents whose homes were damaged by fires over Labor Day weekend 2020.
PacifiCorp could face billions in liability compensating 5,000 homeowners and business owners who filed a class action against the company in 2020 with claims that the fires damaged around 2,400 properties. A separate jury had already determined PacifiCorp was liable for the fires. The jury found that the company was grossly negligent when it failed to shut down power lines during high winds which sparked and created fires across the state.