PacifiCorp has quietly tapped Theodore J. Boutrous Jr., one of the country’s most prominent appellate litigators, to bolster its appeal in the massive Oregon wildfire case tied to the Labor Day 2020 blazes. The move ramps up the stakes just as Multnomah County gears up for a rapid-fire schedule of damages trials. With thousands of claims still in play, the utility is signaling it plans to contest the liability findings every step of the way, not simply wait for the bills to arrive.
As first reported by the Portland Business Journal, PacifiCorp has hired Boutrous of Gibson Dunn to work on the appeal. According to his profile on Gibson Dunn, he has “successfully persuaded courts to overturn some of the largest jury verdicts and class actions in history,” the kind of resume companies reach for when a trial result goes badly and there is still a chance to rewrite the ending on appeal.
The Oregon wildfire litigation traces back to June 2023, when a Multnomah County jury found PacifiCorp liable for four Labor Day fires and awarded about $90 million to 17 named plaintiffs. Berkshire Hathaway Energy details that verdict and the resulting limited judgment in its SEC filings. PacifiCorp later filed its opening brief with the Oregon Court of Appeals in April 2025, according to PacifiCorp, arguing that the trial court mishandled class certification and made other errors along the way.
Legal Chess On Appeal
Attorneys watching the case say the appeal will likely hinge on wonky but critical issues, such as whether thousands of wildfire claims were properly bundled into a single class and whether key evidentiary calls at trial were correct. Boutrous’s appellate track record, heavily focused on spotting reversible legal errors in sprawling trial records, suggests PacifiCorp will drill down hard on those points. Plaintiffs’ lawyers respond that jurors sat through weeks of testimony, that state investigative work backs up their narrative, and that the extensive trial record will not be easily unraveled on appeal.
Court Calendar And High Stakes
The clock is ticking. A case management order adopted last summer lays out an aggressive plan, four damages trials per month starting in February 2026 and potentially eight per month in 2027, unless the parties find a way to settle on a global basis. Berkshire Hathaway highlights that schedule in its filings and warns that if large verdicts keep piling up, the financial impact could be significant.
Adding another layer, a March 2025 report from the Oregon Department of Forestry concluded that power lines did not significantly contribute to the spread of the Santiam Canyon fire, a conclusion PacifiCorp has been quick to emphasize and plaintiffs have just as quickly challenged, according to the Oregon Journalism Project. Regulators have weighed in on the broader landscape too. The Oregon Public Utility Commission rejected an effort to limit customers’ ability to sue over wildfire damages, as reported by AP News, keeping the courthouse doors open for future cases.
Next on the docket, oral argument on PacifiCorp’s appeal is set for Feb. 4, 2026, while the trial court launches its accelerated damages calendar in early February. Canyon Weekly first reported the appeals date and timetable. With Boutrous now in the mix, PacifiCorp is clearly betting on appellate relief rather than quietly winding the case down, a strategy that could reshape settlement talks and the timeline for when wildfire victims actually see money from the litigation.
