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PacifiCorp wildfire payouts near $1.7 billion

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Utility denies negligence in not shutting off power lines

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PacifiCorp has warned of potential liquidity strain

By Jonathan Stempel

Nov 19 (Reuters) - PacifiCorp, owned by Warren Buffett's

Berkshire Hathaway ( BRK/A ), said on Wednesday it reached a $150

million settlement with 1,434 plaintiffs who blamed the utility

for starting the 2020 Labor Day weekend wildfires in Oregon.

The payout boosts the amount PacifiCorp has agreed to pay

wildfire claimants to close to $1.7 billion, including a $125

million settlement last month with 93 Oregon wineries and

vineyards.

PacifiCorp has set aside $2.85 billion for litigation over

wildfires that burned more than 2,000 structures and 500,000

acres in Oregon and northern California. It still faces tens of

billions of dollars of claims.

The Portland, Oregon-based utility has denied victims'

accusations that it was negligent in failing to shut off power

lines during a windstorm. Oregon and the U.S. government are

also suing PacifiCorp over damage to natural resources.

George McCoy, a lawyer representing plaintiffs, in a press

release issued by PacifiCorp called the settlement "reasonable."

PacifiCorp has faced a series of "mini-trials" in the

so-called James litigation, which accounts for most remaining

wildfire claims.

In a November 3 regulatory filing, PacifiCorp said a Multnomah

County, Oregon judge's recent decision to roughly quadruple the

pace of trials "will cause significant financial strain" on

liquidity and could threaten the utility's investment-grade

status.

PacifiCorp had no immediate additional comment.

"The vast majority of Oregonians impacted by PacifiCorp's

fires are still waiting for the company to do the right thing,"

lead counsel for plaintiffs in the James litigation said in a

statement.

PacifiCorp's immediate parent is Berkshire Hathaway Energy,

which is a unit of Buffett's Omaha, Nebraska-based conglomerate.