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PacifiCorp, an electric utility owned by Warren Buffett’s Berkshire Hathaway (NYSE:BRK.A) (NYSE:BRK.B), was ordered
by an Oregon jury to pay at least $62M to nine survivors of the Labor Day 2020 wildfires that swept through
the state.
The jury in Portland, where PacifiCorp is based, awarded the homeowners
nearly $6.3M in compensation for the property damage and other economic losses and $56M for emotional distress,
pain and suffering.
The jury verdict was the second awarding damages over the fires that killed
nine people and caused nearly $1.9B in property damage and other harms, according to a state estimate.
PacifiCorp could face billions of dollars in liability to the thousands of
homeowners affected by the blazes; ~5K homeowners and business owners filed a class action against the company
in 2020.
