Ninth Jury Verdict Brings Total Awards to More than $486 Million

In the ninth jury trial for wildfire survivors against PacifiCorp following the 2020 Labor Day Fires, a jury has awarded eleven plaintiffs a total of $56.1 million. This verdict follows a landmark class action verdict in 2023 that held PacifiCorp liable to the entire class of wildfire survivors who suffered losses. The sole question in the trials that have followed is survivors’ damages.

The damages trials will continue for the remainder of 2025 and likely 2026. Counsel for the class have asked the Court to schedule five trials per month in 2026.

Under the law, the individuals are awarded economic damages (which are doubled) and noneconomic damages, which the 2023 verdict automatically increases by 25% for punitive damages against PacifiCorp. The plaintiffs are:

• Plaintiff Jerome Kosel and his wife Michelle Kosel lost their home and decades of cherished possessions in the Santiam Canyon Fire. Mr. Kosel and his family have spent the last five years rebuilding their home themselves.
• Plaintiff Richard Little and his wife Patti Little lost their riverfront retirement home, historic family photos, a loved one’s ashes, and countless family heirlooms in the Santiam Canyon Fire. They were subsequently forced to move outside of the river canyon they called home.
• Plaintiff Amaya Ramsey was only 16 years old when the Santiam Canyon Fire burned her family’s home—her “safe place,” adjacent to the wooded forest where her young imagination ran wild. The ensuing displacement separated her family and has had long-lasting impacts on Ms. Ramsey.
• Plaintiff Lillie Harvison was living in a home she considered “the last place she would ever live” before it was burned in the Santiam Canyon Fire. Ms. Harvison was forced to flee the approaching wildfire in the middle of the night, through encroaching flames. She lost the tranquility of her garden and hummingbirds, the canopied swing she always dreamt of, and dozens of collected, inherited, or handmade housewares.
• Plaintiff Melissa Marr lost her home in the Santiam Canyon Fire. After the traumatic loss, Ms. Marr and her family worked hard to rebuild the life they had before the fire, but tragically, Ms. Marr passed away before her case went to trial.
• Plaintiff Beverly Unruh, a cancer survivor, and her husband, Don Unruh lost their custom-built retirement home in the Echo Mountain Complex Fire. They left home early to help evacuees at their church and later learned that their property and the scenic environment were destroyed. Ms. Unruh lost deeply significant family heirlooms, such as war memorabilia, love letters, and handmade items from past generations.
• Plaintiffs Bruce and Connie McGowan’s home was already on fire by the time they narrowly escaped the Echo Mountain Complex Fire; Mr. McGowan had to push a flaming tree out of the road in order to escape. In the fire, the McGowans lost the home they had built from the ground up and priceless family antiques, including an original seventeenth-century grandfather clock. The McGowans were displaced to smaller homes until they each passed away prior to trial.
• Plaintiff Gerald Wescott and his wife Norma Wescott’s house suffered significant smoke and ash damage in the Santiam Canyon Fire, which also burned down several structures and the lush forest on their property. They lost cherished family heirlooms and Mr. Wescott’s musical equipment. Mr. Wescott has spent the last five years cleaning up the charred remains and replanting thousands of trees in an effort to restore some of the natural beauty to his property.
• Plaintiff Glen Kent escaped the Santiam Canyon Fire in the middle of the night, with nothing but the clothes on his back and slippers on his feet. Mr. Kent and his wife were surrounded by flames as they drove to their daughter’s house in Salem. Mr. Kent lost his family’s riverfront retirement home, his wife’s wedding band, his military medals, and countless family heirlooms in the fire.
• Plaintiff Rick Allen also escaped the Echo Mountain Complex Fire in the middle of the night, with only his dog and a framed photo of his late wife. Mr. Allen lost deeply cherished belongings and irreplaceable mementos from his lifetime.

“Once again, a jury of Oregon citizens has returned a verdict many multiples greater than the low-ball compensation numbers proposed by PacifiCorp at trial. It is unfortunate that PacifiCorp continues to sink significant financial resources into a losing court fight against these survivors’ claims instead of simply paying them what jury after jury has concluded they are owed,” said Keller Rohrback partner Will Dreher.

“For the ninth time, an Oregon jury has held PacifiCorp accountable for its reckless and willful misconduct during the Labor Day 2020 storm. It’s long past time for Berkshire Hathaway and PacifiCorp to take responsibility. Fire survivors and their families deserve justice for what these giant corporations have done,” said Cody Berne, a partner at Stoll Berne.

“Verdict after verdict, juries are returning consistent, substantial awards to survivors of PacifiCorp's fires," said Nicholas Rosinia, partner at Edelson PC. "Each verdict is a powerful affirmation of what our clients have known all along: PacifiCorp’s recklessness and gross negligence turned their lives upside down, for which the company must be held accountable."

There have been eight damages trials so far, with three more set in 2025. The Court is expected to soon issue a trial schedule for 2026. There are thousands of members of the class who, under the classwide liability finding, are entitled to damages against PacifiCorp.

About the Firms

EDELSON PC is a nationally recognized leader in high-stakes plaintiff's litigation, including class actions, mass torts, and government enforcement actions. The firm is litigating wildfire cases in Oregon, Colorado, and now in Los Angeles arising from the Eaton Fire. As lead counsel, the firm has recovered over $5 billion in settlements and judgments. Edelson PC has offices in Chicago, San Francisco, Los Angeles, Boulder, and Washington, D.C.

KELLER ROHRBACK L.L.P., with offices in Seattle, Denver, Portland, Phoenix, Oakland, Missoula, New York, and Santa Barbara, serves as lead and Co-Lead Counsel in class actions throughout the country. The team of environmental litigators has a long history of successful representation in a wide range of important environmental litigation. The firm has helped protect people and the environment across the country, with judgments and settlements on behalf of clients exceeding $93 billion.

STOLL BERNE, based in Portland, Oregon, represents plaintiffs nationwide in complex environmental, securities, and other class action lawsuits. Recently, Stoll Berne represented the State of Oregon in obtaining a $698 million settlement in a PCB contamination lawsuit against Monsanto.

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