Berkshire electric utility’s court win could save it billions
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PacifiCorp court win could cut wildfire damages by $1 billion or more
One Oregon Court of Appeals decision this week Accepted PacifiCorp’s claim judge one 2023 trial He mistakenly told jurors that the evidence he heard about wildfire losses from 17 homeowners might have assumed he also applied to thousands of other plaintiffs.
They sent in what are called appellate judges. James class action is sent back to the court for reconsideration.
A 2023 jury found the Berkshire utility liable for negligently failing to turn off power lines during a powerful storm, which contributed to four separate wildfires that caused significant property damage.
It was stated that the determination of liability was applied not only to the 17 plaintiffs in this case, but also to all other plaintiffs.
A NASA MODIS satellite image shows wildfires in the US state of Oregon on September 8, 2020. The picture was taken on September 8, 2020.
Maxar Technologies | via Reuters
Other juries awarded them in subsequent “mini-trials” to determine how much PacifiCorp would have to pay plaintiff groups More than $1 billion in damage.
These trials were expected to continue for the next few years.
Plaintiffs in the class may have to start over and prove the company is liable for specific damages, but this week’s decision could be appealed to the state’s high court.
That class includes owners of more than 2,000 properties damaged by separate fires more than a hundred miles apart, the appellate judges noted.
AP reported A statement by the plaintiffs’ lead attorney says the verdict was a “procedural mishap” that did not mean “the jury got it wrong” when it found PacifiCorp liable.
“In fact, the Court essentially rejected PacifiCorp’s efforts to win this appeal. What the court instead dealt with was a single jury instruction that outlined several paths forward, including correcting that instruction and retrying the case.”
In a press release, PacifiCorp said it was “sensitive to the profound losses experienced by members of our communities.” There are no winners in a forest fire; however, the Court’s decision supports PacifiCorp’s long-standing belief that this process is biased and unsuited for managing wildfire litigation.”
The utility said it is “open to resolution of reasonable claims and will continue to defend against unsupported claims.”
Berkshire subsidiary to face real estate brokerage class action lawsuit
Berkshire Hathaway Energy to face proposed class-action lawsuit accusing it of conspiring to inflate real estate commissions despite brokering HomeServices of America Paid $250 million two years ago to resolve the same claims. Reuters reports.
A federal judge in Missouri rejected BHE’s claim that it was covered by the HomeServices agreement because the two were “a single entity” when it came to the antitrust case.
Buffett won’t be on stage, but he’s still on the cover
Berkshire Hathaway coverShareholder Guide“The 2026 annual meeting on May 2 features drawings of both Chairman Warren Buffett and CEO Greg Abel.
Although Buffett is prominent in the guidance and badges that shareholders will wear (as noted in a report) Brief news report from Omaha’s WOWT-TV), will cede the spotlight to Abel during the Q&A portion of the meeting.
Buffett said he will be at Omaha’s CHI Health Center arena with board members as Abel answers shareholders’ questions, as quoted by CNBC’s Becky Quick.
Abel will be joined by insurance chief Ajit Jain for the first question-answer session.
BNSF CEO Katie Farmer and NetJets CEO and Berkshire’s head of consumer products, services and retailing Adam Johnson. a new positionHe will be on stage with Abel for the second Q&A.
This will be the first time subsidiary-level executives have been included in the annual Q&A.
The crowd reacts during the Berkshire Hathaway Annual Shareholder Meeting on May 3, 2025 in Omaha, Nebraska.
CNBC
Buffett book adds Berkshire’s next chapter
Examining Berkshire Hathway through the eyes of the people who run its subsidiaries, the book gets an update that includes the company’s transition from Warren Buffett to new CEO Greg Abel.
It will be “Warren Buffett CEO: Secrets of Berkshire Hathaway Executives, 25th Anniversary Edition” Published by Wiley On April 28.
Author Robert P. Miles also added four new chapters focusing on Berkshire’s “insurance engine” and featuring profiles of three key executives, including Ajit Jain’s potential successor.
You have Miles posted a video Here’s a look at portfolio manager Ted Weschler as he discussed the book for an audience of investment managers gathered in Switzerland in January.
BUFFETT & BERKSHİRE ON THE INTERNET
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HIGHLIGHTS FROM CNBC’S BUFFETT ARCHIVE
‘It’s not a very complicated economic equation in Berkshire’ (2016)
WARREN BUFFET: At Berkshire, it’s not a very complicated economic equation.
People did not understand the value of being suspended in the air for long periods of time. We kept explaining it to them, and I think they’re explaining it now.
The important thing is, the goal, what Charlie and I think, is that we want to add to what’s normalized every year, which is the normalized earnings per share power of the company.
And we think we can do it because we need to be able to. We kept our earnings to work year after year to complete this job.
Sometimes it doesn’t seem like we’ve accomplished much and it seems like we haven’t accomplished much.
In other years, something big happens and we don’t know in advance which year will be which…
Charlie Munger: So far there are very few companies with similar advantages.
For the entire history of Berkshire Hathaway, we’ve lived in a flood of money and have continually distributed it, distributed assets, and gotten wiser as we go. This is a pretty good system.
WARREN BUFFET: This is a —
Charlie Munger: We will not change this.
WARREN BUFFET: No. And many mistakes are allowed. I mean, that’s what’s interesting.
The American job was good enough that you didn’t need to be one; You don’t have to be really smart to get a good result. And if you can bring some intelligence then you should get a pretty good result.
Charlie Munger: What you need to do is to avoid the standard stupidity. You keep them out. You don’t have to be smart.
WARREN BUFFET: Thank God.
Charlie Munger: Thank God, it’s true.
BERKSHire SHARE TIME
BRK.A stock price: $720,002.88
BRK.B share price: $479.90
BRK.BP/E (TTM): 15.47
Berkshire market cap: $1,035,160,682,901
Berkshire Cash as of December 31: $373.3 billion (down 2.2% from September 30)
Excluding railroad cash and issuance of treasury bills payable: $369.0 billion (up 4.1% from September 30)
Berkshire resumed share buybacks on March 4, 2026, but did not say whether it made any additional purchases after that date.
(All figures are as of the date of publication unless otherwise stated)
BERKSHire’S LARGEST SHAREHOLDING HOLDINGS – April 10, 2026
Berkshire’s top listed publicly traded stocks in the U.S. and Japan by market capitalization based on their latest closing prices.
Holdings as of September 30, 2025, as reported. Berkshire Hathaway’s 13F filing On November 14, 2025, except:
A complete list of holdings and current market values is available on CNBC.com’s Berkshire Hathaway Portfolio Tracker.
QUESTIONS OR COMMENTS
Please send me any questions or comments about the newsletter at: alex.crippen@nbcuni.com. (We’re sorry, but we do not forward questions or comments to Buffett himself.)
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Additionally, reading Buffett’s annual letters to shareholders is highly recommended. There are people gathered on Berkshire’s website here.
— Alex Crippen, Editor, Warren Buffett Watch
