The parties in lawsuits seeking damages for last year’s Maui wildfires have reached a global settlement of more than $4 billion (€3.6 billion), a court filing said on Friday.
The agreement comes nearly one year after the deadliest US wildfire in more than a century killed 102 people and destroyed the historic downtown area of Lahaina on Maui.
The term sheet with details of the settlement is not publicly available, but the liaison lawyers filed a motion on Friday saying the global settlement seeks to resolve all Maui fire claims for $4.037 billion.
The motion asks the judge to order that insurers cannot separately go after the defendants to recoup money paid to policyholders.
“We’re under no illusions that this is going to make Maui whole,” said Jake Lowenthal, a Maui lawyer selected as one of the liaisons for the co-ordination of the cases.
“We know for a fact that it’s not going to make up for what they lost.”
He noted there were “extenuating circumstances” that made lawyers worry the litigation would drag on for years.
Some lawyers involved have expressed concern about reaching a settlement before the possible bankruptcy of Hawaiian Electric Company.
Hawaiian Electric chief executive Sheelee Kimura said the settlement will allow the parties to move forward without the added challenges and divisiveness of litigation.
“For the many affected parties to work with such commitment and focus to reach resolution in a uniquely complex case is a powerful demonstration of how Hawaiʻi comes together in times of crisis,” Ms Kimura said in a statement.
Hawaiian Electric said the settlement will help re-establish the company’s financial stability.
It said payments would begin after final approval and were expected no earlier than the middle of next year.
Gilbert Keith-Agaran, a Maui lawyer who represents victims, including families who lost relatives, said the amount was “woefully short”.
But he said it was a deal plaintiffs needed to consider given Hawaiian Electric’s limited assets and potential bankruptcy.
Now that a settlement has been reached, more work needs to be on the next steps, like how to divvy up the amount.
“This is the first step to allowing the Maui fire victims to get compensation sooner than later,” Mr Lowenthal said.
The August 8, 2023 wildfire burned thousands of homes and displaced 12,000 people.
More than 600 lawsuits have been filed over the deaths and destruction caused by the fires.
In the spring, a judge appointed mediators and ordered all parties to participate in settlement talks.
