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Berkshire Hathaway Energy’s (NYSE:BRK.A) (NYSE:BRK.B) PacifiCorp unit disclosed Tuesday it agreed to pay $299M to settle claims over wildfires in Oregon during September 2020, averting a jury trial that could have exposed it to billions in damages.
According to an 8-K filing, the settlements will resolve claims that PacifiCorp’s equipment was responsible for the fires in Douglas County, Oregon, that destroyed an estimated 170 residences.
The agreements resolve substantially all of the Archie Creek Complex Fire claims filed by individual plaintiffs, and the respective settlement amounts are consistent with amounts previously accrued for the wildfires, the company said, although they do not address claims by several timber companies that are suing over the loss of trees.
PacifiCorp has been hit by lawsuits claiming it failed to heed hazardous weather warnings and shut off power in its service areas before downed power lines ignited fires.