Berkshire Shows Unusual Risk Appetite in Wildfire Court Fight
- The company said it could end up on the hook for $11 billion
- Litigation has spooked investors, hurting PacifiCorp bonds
Damage follwoing wildfires in in Gates, Oregon, in September 2020.
Photographer: Kathryn Elsesser/Getty ImagesThis article is for subscribers only.
Berkshire Hathaway Energy Co.’s PacifiCorp has been battered in an unprecedented court fight over the utility’s failure to prevent massive wildfire destruction in Oregon.
The largest grid operator in the western US faces the risk that it will have to pay billions of dollars in damages following a jury’s finding that it was grossly negligent in a series of fires in September 2020. The ongoing litigation has also spooked investors, hurting PacifiCorp bonds and the company’s credit rating.