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PacifiCorp legal victory could lessen wildfire liabilities by $1B or more
An Oregon Court of Appeals decision this week accepted PacifiCorp’s claim that the judge in a 2023 trial incorrectly instructed jurors to apply evidence of wildfire damages experienced by 17 homeowners to a class encompassing thousands of additional plaintiffs.
The appellate judges referred the matter known as the James class action back to the trial court for a new evaluation.
The jury in 2023 determined the Berkshire utility was liable for not properly shutting down power lines during a severe windstorm, which contributed to four distinct wildfires leading to significant property damage.
This liability was found to extend beyond the 17 plaintiffs in that case to the entire class of other claimants.
In later “mini-trials” to ascertain the compensation PacifiCorp would owe particular groups of plaintiffs, additional juries awarded them over $1 billion in damages.
These proceedings were projected to persist for the next several years,
Claimants in the class may need to restart and demonstrate the company’s liability for their individual damages, although this week’s ruling may be submitted for appeal to the highest court in the state.
The appellate judges acknowledged the class consists of owners of over 2,000 properties that were affected by various fires spread across more than a hundred miles.
According to AP reports, a statement from the lead counsel for the plaintiffs describes the ruling as a “procedural setback” that does not imply “the jury erred” when determining PacifiCorp’s liability.
“In reality, the Court dismissed PacifiCorp’s attempts to succeed on this appeal on substantive grounds. What the court addressed was one particular jury instruction, outlining several routes forward — including correcting that instruction and retrying the case.”
In a statement, PacifiCorp expressed its awareness of the significant losses faced by community members. The utility indicated, “There are no winners in wildfire; however, the Court’s ruling reaffirms PacifiCorp’s long-held belief that this process was biased and unsuitable for managing wildfire litigation.”
The utility asserted it “remains receptive to negotiating justified claims and will persist in defending against unwarranted claims.”
Berkshire subsidiary faces real estate commissions class lawsuit
Berkshire Hathaway Energy is set to confront a proposed class action lawsuit claiming it conspired to elevate real estate commissions despite its HomeServices of America brokerage having paid $250 million two years prior to resolve similar allegations, according to a Reuters report.
A federal judge in Missouri rejected BHE’s claim that it was covered by the HomeServices settlement as the two constitute a “single enterprise” concerning antitrust matters.
Buffett offstage but featured on the cover
The front cover of Berkshire Hathaway’s “Shareholders Guide” for the 2026 annual meeting on May 2 showcases illustrations of both Chairman Warren Buffett and CEO Greg Abel.
Although Buffett is prominently featured in the guide and on badges that shareholders will wear (as mentioned in a brief news report by Omaha’s WOWT-TV), he will step back from the spotlight to let Abel lead the meeting’s Q&A session.
Buffett mentioned he would be present on the floor of Omaha’s CHI Health Center arena with fellow board members while Abel fields shareholder inquiries, as reported by CNBC’s Becky Quick.
In the initial Q&A session, Abel will be accompanied by insurance chief Ajit Jain.
In the second Q&A, BNSF CEO Katie Farmer and Adam Johnson, CEO of NetJets and Berkshire’s president of consumer products, service, and retailing, who holds a new position, will join Abel on stage.
This marks the inaugural inclusion of executives at the subsidiary level in an annual meeting Q&A.
CNBC.com’s live web stream coverage starts at 9:15 AM ET with a pre-event show. The first Q&A is set to begin at 10:30 AM ET.
Buffett book enhances Berkshire’s next chapter
A publication that examines Berkshire Hathaway through the perspectives of those managing its subsidiaries is receiving an update that reflects the company’s transition from Warren Buffett to new CEO Greg Abel.
“The Warren Buffett CEO: Secrets from the Berkshire Hathaway Managers, 25th Anniversary Edition” is scheduled to be released by Wiley on April 28.
Author Robert P. Miles has also included four new chapters that focus on Berkshire’s “insurance engine,” featuring profiles of three key executives, including a possible successor for Ajit Jain.
Miles has shared a video where he discusses the book in January for an audience of investment managers in Switzerland, highlighting portfolio manager Ted Weschler.
BUFFETT & BERKSHIRE ONLINE
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NOTABLE QUOTES FROM CNBC’S BUFFETT ARCHIVE
‘It’s not a very complicated economic equation at Berkshire’ (2016)
Warren Buffett and Charlie Munger discuss the effectiveness of Berkshire’s system.
WARREN BUFFETT: It’s not a particularly complex economic equation at Berkshire.
For a long time, people didn’t recognize the importance of float. We kept conveying it to them, and I think they’ve come to appreciate it now.
The primary aim, what Charlie and I focus on, is to augment, each year, something to the normalized — you know, the normalized earning power per share of the company.
We believe we can achieve this and we should be able to. We have retained earnings available each year to fulfill that task.
Sometimes it may not seem like we’ve made much progress, and we haven’t.
Other times, significant things occur, and we can’t predict which year will yield which outcome…
CHARLIE MUNGER: In fact, there are very few companies that have enjoyed a similar advantage.
Throughout Berkshire Hathaway’s history, we’ve operated in a flow of capital, constantly deploying and reallocating assets, while learning along the way. That’s a commendable system.
WARREN BUFFETT: It’s a —
CHARLIE MUNGER: We’re not planning to change it.
WARREN BUFFETT: No. It’s allowed for numerous mistakes, which is intriguing.
American business has been sufficiently strong that there’s no need to be exceptionally clever to achieve reasonable returns. If you can apply a modicum of intelligence, you should achieve commendable results.
CHARLIE MUNGER: What you really need to do is avoid the typical blunders. Just steer clear of those. You don’t need to be exceptionally smart.
WARREN BUFFETT: Thank heavens.
CHARLIE MUNGER: Thank heavens, indeed.
BERKSHIRE STOCK OVERVIEW
Four weeks
Twelve months
BRK.A stock price: $720,002.88
BRK.B stock price: $479.90
BRK.B P/E (TTM): 15.47
Berkshire market capitalization: $1,035,160,682,901
Berkshire Cash as of December 31: $373.3 billion (Decreased 2.2% from Sept. 30)
Excluding Rail Cash and after Subtracting T-Bills Payable: $369.0 billion (Increased 4.1% from September 30)
Berkshire resumed share buybacks on March 4, 2026, but has not disclosed whether it made any further purchases after that date.
(All figures are as of the publication date, unless otherwise specified)
BERKSHIRE’S LEADING EQUITY HOLDINGS – Apr. 10, 2026
Berkshire’s principal holdings of publicly traded stocks in the U.S. and Japan, arranged by market value, according to the latest closing prices.
Holdings are as of September 30, 2025, as detailed in Berkshire Hathaway’s 13F filing on November 14, 2025, with exceptions being:
- Mitsubishi, which is reported as of August 28, 2025
- Mitsui, listed as of September 30, 2025
The comprehensive list of holdings and their current market values is accessible via CNBC.com’s Berkshire Hathaway Portfolio Tracker.
QUESTIONS OR COMMENTS
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Additionally, Buffett’s annual letters to shareholders are highly recommended. They can be found here on Berkshire’s website.
— Alex Crippen, Editor, Warren Buffett Watch
