太平洋电力山火诉讼案交俄勒冈州最高法院审理：12.5亿美元判决能否恢复成焦点
11月3日，美国俄勒冈州最高法院审理伯克希尔·哈撒韦旗下太平洋电力公司（PacifiCorp）的山火诉讼案，裁决结果可能使这家总部位于俄勒冈州马尔特诺马县 Portland 市的电力公司面临数百亿美元的潜在赔偿。原告为俄勒冈州居民与企业主，他们要求推翻州中级上诉法院的一项裁决——该裁决因陪审团指示存在错误，撤销了针对太平洋电力公司的12.5亿美元赔偿判决。
原告称，太平洋电力公司在2020年劳动节周末大风期间因设备问题且未能及时切断电源，导致 Santiam Canyon、Echo Mountain Complex、South Obenchain 与 242 号四场山火，损毁了2000多处房产。太平洋电力公司否认存在过失，并称受害人不应以集体方式起诉，因为四场火灾相距100多英里。2023年诉讼第一阶段，陪审团认定该公司对四场火灾均负有责任；今年4月8日，俄勒冈州上诉法院撤销了责任认定与相关判决。
截至今年6月30日，太平洋电力公司已与集体诉讼范围外的索赔人达成约23亿美元和解；该公司今年2月还同意支付5.75亿美元，就联邦政府关于六场山火的索赔达成和解。另有1000多名原告仍在等待审判。州最高法院可能恢复原判决，也可能维持上诉法院裁决、将案件发回重审。
（来源：路透社）
PacifiCorp Wildfire Lawsuits Head to Oregon Supreme Court Over $1.25 Billion Verdict
On November 3, the Oregon Supreme Court took up the wildfire lawsuits against PacifiCorp, the Berkshire Hathaway-owned utility based in Portland, Multnomah County, Oregon, in a case that could expose the company to tens of billions of dollars in potential damages. Oregon residents and business owners are asking the court to reverse a mid-level appeals court decision that wiped out $1.25 billion in awards against PacifiCorp because of an error in jury instructions.
The claimants say PacifiCorp's equipment and its negligent failure to shut down power lines during a Labor Day weekend windstorm in 2020 caused the Santiam Canyon, Echo Mountain Complex, South Obenchain and 242 fires, damaging more than 2,000 properties. PacifiCorp denies negligence and argues victims should not sue as a group because the fires were more than 100 miles apart. In the first phase of the litigation in 2023, a jury found PacifiCorp at fault for all four fires; on April 8 this year, the Oregon Court of Appeals set aside the liability verdict and the judgments.
Through June 30, PacifiCorp had reached about $2.3 billion in settlements with claimants outside the certified class, and in February it agreed to pay $575 million to resolve U.S. government claims over six wildfires. More than 1,000 additional plaintiffs still await trial. The state supreme court could reinstate the judgments or uphold the appeals court and send the case back.
(Source: Reuters)
来源：路透社
发布：GSM·美国（发布链接）
图片来源：图：俄勒冈州最高法院大楼。图片来源：Wikimedia Commons（Public domain，M.O. Stevens)。 / Photo: Oregon Supreme Court Building. Source: Wikimedia Commons（Public domain，M.O. Stevens).
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