PacifiCorp faces $30 B of wildfire claims
1000 victims are each seeking up to $5 million for actual losses such as property damage, and up to $25 million for losses such as emotional distress.
Image for illustration purposes.
USA, Oregon: Pacificorp is facing $30 billion of new claims blaming it for causing Oregon wildfires in 2020, nearly four times the maximum loss it had projected. One thousand victims filed claims against the utility on Monday in a Portland state court.
Victims are each seeking up to $5 million for actual losses such as property damage, and up to $25 million for losses such as emotional distress. The claimants were added to litigation where a jury last June ordered the utility to pay $90 million to 17 claimants for gross negligence over its failure to shut down lines during a windstorm.
PacifiCorp is appealing. Through late February, it had paid $735 million to settle wildfire claims by several hundred people and 10 timber companies. The company said it had settled more than 1000 Oregon wildfire claims and it would continue resolving reasonable claims under that state’s law. It added that excessive claims posed an “ominous risk” to future investments in states that expose utilities to becoming “de facto insurers of last resort” as extreme weather becomes more prevalent.
Source: Reuters