Hawaii announces $4 billion settlement in Maui fire cases

Hawaiian Electric Industries is among several defendants who agreed on Friday to pay more than $4 billion (€3.7 billion) to settle lawsuits over the deadly 2023 Maui wildfires.

The utility operating on the island and its parent, Hawaiian Electric, are liable for $1.99 billion of the amount before tax.

It also includes $75 million previously contributed to the One Ohana Initiative.

"We're under no illusions that this is going to make Maui whole," Jake Lowenthal, a Maui attorney selected as one of four liaisons for the coordination of the cases, told The Associated Press. "We know for a fact that it's not going to make up for what they lost."

What do we know about the settlement?

Hawaii Governor Josh Green said in a statement that seven defendants will pay the $4.037 billion to compensate those who have already brought claims for the August 8, 2023, fires.

The wildfires killed 102 people and destroyed the historic downtown area of Lahaina on Maui, with Green saying the proposed settlement is an agreement in principle and would "help our people heal." 

"My priority as governor was to expedite the agreement and to avoid protracted and painful lawsuits so as many resources as possible would go to those affected by the wildfires as quickly as possible," he said in a statement.

"It will be good that our people don't have to wait to rebuild their lives as long as others have in many places that have suffered similar tragedies," Green said.

Meanwhile, Thomas Leonard, who lost his apartment in the fire and spent hours in the ocean behind a seawall hiding from the flames, said: "It gives us something to work with. I'm going to need that money to rebuild."

Who was being sued?

Hawaiian Electric and defendants, including county officials, faced lawsuits over the blazes that tore through Maui last year, causing deaths, destroying thousands of properties and causing damage estimated at $5 billion.

The lawsuits claimed the utility company failed to shut down power lines despite previous warnings that high winds might blow them down and spark wildfires.

Settlement payments will begin after judicial approval and are expected to be made from mid-2025, Hawaiian Electric said in a statement.

km/sms (AP, Reuters, AFP)