Parties seeking damages for Maui fires reach US$4 billion settlement

The parties in lawsuits seeking damages for last year’s Maui wildfires have reached a US$4 billion global settlement, a court filing said on Friday, nearly one year after the deadliest US wildfire in more than a century.

The term sheet with details of the settlement is not publicly available, but the liaison lawyers filed a motion on Friday, adding that the global settlement seeks to resolve all Maui fire claims for US$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 four liaisons for the coordination of the cases. “We know for a fact that it’s not going to make up for what they lost.”

Thomas Leonard, who lost his Front Street condo in the fire and spent hours in the ocean behind a sea wall hiding from the flames, welcomed the news.

“It gives us something to work with,” he said. “I’m going to need that money to rebuild.”

Hawaii Governor Josh Green said in a statement that seven defendants will pay the US$4.037 billion to compensate those who have already brought claims for the August 8, 2023, fires that killed 102 people and destroyed the historic downtown area of Lahaina on Maui.