HONOLULU (AP) — According to Gov. Josh Green, the parties involved in the Lahaina wildfire lawsuits against the state of Hawaii, Maui County, and utilities are close to reaching a global settlement of claims that will be valued at slightly over $4 billion. Green mentioned to The Associated Press on Wednesday that he hopes to finalize the details in the upcoming days, possibly by Aug. 6, just two days before the one-year anniversary of the fire that tragically claimed 102 lives and destroyed historic Lahaina.
“If that could happen, it would be great. I humbly invite all the parties to finalize the agreement,” Green stated in an interview at his office. “It appears that we are almost there, and we only have a very tiny holdout remaining.”
While all the plaintiffs and defendants have agreed on the global settlement number, final details are still pending.
Over 600 lawsuits have been filed regarding the deaths and devastation caused by the fires. A judge had appointed mediators in the spring and mandated all parties to engage in settlement discussions.
Despite reports of a ‘global settlement,’ Judge Peter Cahill, overseeing the coordination of the lawsuits, expressed in a scheduling order last week that no official notice had been received by any party. Maui attorney Jake Lowenthal, selected as one of five liaisons for the coordination of the cases, confirmed on Wednesday that there is currently no settlement in place.
Statements from Hawaiian Electric Company and Maui County were not available for comment. Green mentioned that while he was away traveling, he worked on the settlement as bringing $4 billion to Lahaina would expedite the community’s recovery, unlike settlements in other wildfire cases which have taken years to resolve.
In 2019, Pacific Gas and Electric settled major claims related to the deadly Northern California wildfires of 2017-2018 for $13.5 billion. The deal included claims over the 2018 Camp Fire, the 2015 Butte Fire, and Oakland’s 2016 Ghost Ship fire.
Separately, former PG&E executives and directors agreed to pay $117 million to settle a lawsuit over the 2017-2018 wildfires three years later.
Copyright 2024 The Associated Press. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed without permission.
