An Oregon appeals court has sided with PacifiCorp in a ruling that could possibly jeopardize over $1 Billion in damages for victims of the state’s devastating 2020 wildfires. the ruling also affects plaintiffs in Siskiyou County whose property was destroyed and in some cases family members killed in wildfires in 2022. The Oregon Court of Appeals on Wednesday sent a class-action case back to a lower trial court over concerns about a jury instruction given at a trial in 2023. In that trial, jurors found the utility liable for negligently failing to cut power despite warnings from top fire officials. Since then, juries have ordered PacifiCorp to pay over $1 Billion in damages to members of the class. It remained unclear how the case will proceed and whether plaintiffs’ attorneys will appeal. Separately, PacifiCorp has agreed to pay over $2 Billion to settle claims stemming from a series of lawsuits it has faced over the 2020 blazes, including $575 Million to the Federal Government for wildfire damages on federal land in Oregon and California.