Company, Insurers Sues Oregon Utility Over Power Outage

Four years after closing its Eugene, Ore., plant, Hynix Semiconductor has filed a $1.1 million lawsuit against the Eugene Water & Electric Board.

The company and two insurers claim vibrations from a drill used by utility workers triggered a brief power outage in 2007 that damaged manufacturing equipment and semiconductor wafers.

The suit was filed Aug. 20 and became public Friday in Lane County Circuit Court.

EWEB spokesman Joe Harwood told The Register-Guard newspaper the utility will not publicly discuss pending litigation.

The plant employed as many as 1,000 people before closing in 2008. The company cited a weak market for its chips and an industry shift to more advanced processes.