Reporter for The Canyon Weekly
Wildfire attorneys are at odds over who can represent clients in claims against PacifiCorp for the 2020 Labor Day fires, and a Portland judge has been asked to clarify the matter.
Edelson PC, lead counsel for plaintiffs in James et al vs PacifiCorp, sent a cease and desist letter June 1 to attorneys led by Warren Allen LLP over the latter’s outreach efforts in the Santiam Canyon.
Specifically Edelson objected to a free luncheon that day in Gates hosted by Warren Allen, which was advertised on Facebook as a “litigation update.”
Court filings said Warren Allen was soliciting fire survivors to seek settlements through their firm rather than years of potential litigation currently facing James plaintiffs.
Warren Allen recently reached a $178 million settlement with PacifiCorp for 403 claimants who opted out of the James class, according to a June 3 release issued jointly with the utility.
Settlement negotiations in James broke down in April and there are currently 1,365 individual claims totaling $58 billion awaiting trial dates. The James suit has resulted in $212 million in damages for 36 plaintiffs in three trials since last year.
Edelson’s letter said the luncheon was inappropriate because Warren Allen has “engaged in little-to-no litigation activities” and is not “involved in any way” with the suit. The letter demanded Warren Allen and its representatives not make claims about availability of settlements or the progress of suit, or make “false or misleading statements” about the James case.
Warren Allen responded June 14 with a motion in Multnomah County Circuit Court asking Judge Steffan Alexander to clarify the scope of Edelson’s representation.
The motion said attorneys have a First Amendment right to solicit clients within the bounds of professional ethics, while plaintiffs have a right to know their options. The motion also argued Edelson does not represent all class members in the current damages phase of the case and plaintiffs may choose who will represent them.
At issue is the two-phase structure of the lawsuit, defined in a 2022 order by Alexander.
A Phase I liability trial was held in spring of 2023 and resulted in PacifiCorp being found negligently responsible for the Santiam, Echo Mountain Complex, South Obenchain and 242 fires. The case then entered Phase II to determine damages to a class of roughly 5,000 individuals.
The June 14 motion said Edelson was lead counsel for the entire class (except those who opted out) only for Phase I when class-wide issues of liability were considered. When Phase II began the focus shifted to individual damages and Warren Allen argued Edelson no longer had “priority or exclusivity,” in representing the class.
The motion said Warren Allen is “expressly not speaking to anyone who is known to have formally retained Edelson.” Advertisements for the June 1 luncheon also contained a disclaimer that individuals who had retained counsel could disregard the ad.
The motion asked Alexander to clarify that Warren Allen and associated firms “should be permitted to solicit and sign up these claimants who have not yet retained another firm.”
As of press time Edelson had not filed a response to the motion, and a hearing to consider the matter had not been set.
