The majority of the 403 plaintiffs in the settlement were affected by the Echo Mountain Complex Fire that devastated Oregon鈥檚 central coast, said George McCoy, one of the plaintiffs鈥� attorneys, while others were impacted by the Santiam Fire that raged east of the state capital Salem in northwestern Oregon.
In a statement, the utility said it has settled nearly 1,500 claims stemming from the Labor Day 2020 wildfires. The blazes were in Oregon鈥檚 history, killing nine people, burning more than 1,875 square miles and destroying thousands of homes and other structures.
鈥淲e think this is a great way for our clients to be able to rebuild and recover from these traumatic events, and we think that this will give them the ability to start that process now,鈥� McCoy said.
PacifiCorp faces more lawsuits over the blazes, including one filed last month by dozens of seeking over $100 million in damages. In their suit, the wine producers alleged that the utility鈥檚 decision to not turn off power during the Labor Day windstorm contributed to blazes whose smoke and soot damaged their grapes and reduced their harvest and sales.
In other cases that have gone to trial over the past year, Oregon juries, in , have ordered PacifiCorp to pay hundreds of millions of dollars to victims. Ongoing litigation could leave it on the hook for billions.
Last June, a jury for negligently failing to cut power to its 600,000 customers despite warnings from top fire officials. The jury determined it acted negligently and willfully and should have to pay punitive and other damages 鈥� a decision that applied to a class including the owners of up to 2,500 properties.
Thousands of other class members are still awaiting trials, although the sides are also expected to engage in mediation that could lead to a settlement.
Last week, Oregon utility regulators rejected a request from PacifiCorp that in wildfire lawsuits.
Under the proposal, the utility would only have been responsible for paying out actual economic damages in lawsuit awards. The Oregon Public Utility said the request was too broad, and that such a move would prohibit payouts for noneconomic damages such as pain, mental suffering and emotional distress.
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