Beneath the Flames: A Tacana Leader’s Stand to Shield Indigenous Villages from Amazon Wildfires

RURRENABAQUE, Bolivia — On a day tinted with the acrid smoke of the Amazon ablaze, Dario Mamio Serato stood alone wielding a machete, his efforts a desperate bid to carve a break in the fuel feeding the inferno rapidly nearing his village. As smoke obscured the sky and panic filled the air, the survival of three indigenous Tacana villages hung precariously in the balance, with dozens of families still scrambling to evacuate. The Amazon rainforest, often referred to as the planet’s lungs, was suffocating under a blanket of smoke, and with it was Serato, a … Read more

PacifiCorp Ordered to Pay $42 Million in Damages for Devastating Oregon Wildfires

GATES, Oregon — PacifiCorp, a unit of Warren Buffett’s Berkshire Hathaway, has been ordered by an Oregon jury to pay over $42 million to 10 victims of the devastating wildfires that occurred on Labor Day 2020. This verdict is the latest development in a series of litigations that are expected to result in the electric utility being held accountable for billions of dollars in damages. The jury’s decision last June found PacifiCorp liable for negligence in failing to cut power to its 600,000 customers despite warnings from top fire officials. The jury concluded that the … Read more

Portland Jury Awards $85 Million to Survivors of Devastating 2020 Oregon Wildfires in PacifiCorp Lawsuit

OTIS, Oregon – A Portland jury has awarded nine survivors of Oregon’s 2020 Labor Day fires a total of $85 million in the latest court case against utility company PacifiCorp. The trial, which lasted a little over two weeks, marked the first in a series to determine compensation for approximately 5,000 fire victims affected by four major wildfires that destroyed numerous homes and caused extensive damage. PacifiCorp has raised objections to the final amount, stating that they estimated it would be closer to $79 million following the judge’s ruling on post-trial motions. In a previous … Read more

CVN’s Top 10 Most Impressive Plaintiff Verdicts of 2023: From Wildfires to Wrongful Deaths, These Trials Made Legal History

PHOENIX, AZ: Courtroom View Network (CVN) has a busy year ahead, with plans to provide comprehensive video coverage of civil trials in state courts across the country. These trials are of significant interest to the legal, educational, and business communities. But before diving into the trials of 2024, let’s take a moment to reflect on the top 10 most impressive plaintiff verdicts that CVN covered in 2023. CVN is the only news organization dedicated to providing gavel-to-gavel video coverage of real-world civil trials. While some of the trials may have made national headlines, others may … Read more