The next in an ongoing line of lawsuits targeting PacifiCorp has been filed by an unlikely source — Oregon’s vaunted wine industry.
More than 40 wineries filed suit in Multnomah County Circuit Court in late May alleging that the Portland-based electrical utility’s negligence led to tens of millions of dollars in damages to the state’s grape crop and the subsequent vintage due to exposure to smoke and soot from wildfires. The plaintiffs are seeking a jury trial in the matter.
The bulk of the wineries named in the lawsuit are located in the Willamette Valley.
The wildfires began on Sept. 7, 2020, at sites along the flanks of the Cascade Mountains from Mill City on the north to Eagle Point in the south, as well as near the towns of Lincoln City and Otis on the west.
The lawsuit argues that PacifiCorp, despite advance knowledge of weather patterns and high winds creating a perfect scenario for ignition, refused to cut power to transmission lines that then ignited fires in forests and among structures over thousands of acres in the state.
“The catastrophe was not a surprise to the public or defendants,” the complaint said. “On Sept. 6 and 7, 2020, the days before the fire, the National Weather Service, public media, state and local officials and business owners warned the citizens of Oregon, and defendants in particular, that a historic red-flag-warning weather event would occur, producing catastrophic winds in excess of 50 mph and hot, dry air that was likely to cause electrical failures that would cause dangerous fires.”
Neighboring electrical utilities, including PGE, “all turned off their power to protect the public from their systems failing in the record wind and sparking fires,” the lawsuit continued, saying more than 170,000 customers were affected. “PacifiCorp declined to turn off its power, knowing of the risks to the public. … PacifiCorp chose profits over safety.”
The lawsuit seeks more than $102.59 million in damages for the 41 wineries, decrying PacifiCorp for negligence, gross negligence, inverse condemnation (when a government-regulated utility damages or decreases the value of private property without first obtaining ownership) and “spoilation of evidence.” The spoilation of evidence claims stems from allegations by the plaintiffs that PacifiCorp deliberately destroyed evidence gathered during an in-house investigation by the company.
“Instead of preserving the physical and electronic evidence, PacifiCorp destroyed the physical evidence, text messages and voicemails, knowing that they were violating the law and their own policy manual in doing so,” the lawsuit said.
PacifiCorp officials commented in a prepared statement issued to the Associated Press that it is “committed to settling all reasonable claims for damages as provided under Oregon law. The safety of our customers and communities remains on our top priority.”
Tainted grapes make wine virtually worthless
The lawsuit argues that due to PacifiCorp’s negligence the 2020 crop of wine grapes were rendered all but useless.
“Grapes and grape juice that are infused with smoke can carry the smoke compounds and smoke taste through the entire wine production, bottling process and sale to the consumers,” the lawsuit said. “Sometimes, the smoke compounds can be tasted early in the process, or sometimes only much later after the wine is bottled.
“On occasion, some wineries can cleanse the (smoky) taste from the grapes and juice during wine production, before the wineries bottle the wine for sale. On other occasions, some wineries can cleanse the smoke taste during the early stages of production, believe they successfully cleansed the smoke particles and then learn that they (smoky) taste emerges after the wine has been bottled.”
Few wineries affected by the wildfires went on to produce and bottle wine from the tainted grapes; most simply discarded the grapes. One Dundee-area wine, Patricia Green Cellars, distilled the tainted wine into whiskey and then blended it with a bourbon produced by a local distillery.
Lawsuit one of many, some settled
Pacific Power, a subsidiary of PacifiCorp, announced on June 3 a $178 million settlement with more than 400 plaintiffs in a separate lawsuit filed after the 2020 wildfires. The victims were primarily owners of properties devastated by the Echo Mountain Complex Fire on the Oregon coast near Lincoln City and the Santiam Fire near Detroit.
To date, Pacific Power said in a statement, it has settled nearly 1,500 claims resulting from the fires. However, many lawsuits continue and could drive damages owed by Pacific Power and PacifiCorp to tens of billions of dollars.
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