Hawaii Gov. Josh Green tells AP that a $4 billion settlement for the 2023 Maui wildfire could come next week

HONOLULU– The parties involved Lahaina wildfire Lawsuits against the state of Hawaii, Maui County and utility companies are close to a global settlement of claims that will be worth just over $4 billion, Gov. Josh Green told The Associated Press on Wednesday.

Green said he hopes to finalize the details in the coming days, perhaps as early as Aug. 6, which would be two days before the one year anniversary of the fire that killed 102 people and destroyed historic Lahaina.

“If that could happen, it would be great. I humbly invite all parties to finalize the agreement,” Green said in an interview in his office. “It looks like we’re almost there and we only have a little resistance left.”

He said all plaintiffs and defendants agreed on the overall settlement number, but final details are pending.

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 negotiations.

“Then, on July 18, 2024, the Court, along with no doubt many others, learned for the first time details of what media reports purported to be a ‘global settlement,’” said Justice Peter Cahill, who is supervising the coordination of processes. he wrote in a scheduling request last week. “These reports proved to be premature.”

Cahill noted that he has not received any notice from either party “of any agreement, much less of a global nature.” However, he was also not informed of any impasse in the negotiation process, he wrote.

Maui County and Hawaiian Electric Company did not immediately respond to an email seeking comment.

Green said he was traveling out of state for several weeks, but ended up working on the deal while he was away because bringing $4 billion to Lahaina would speed up the community’s recovery. Wildfire lawsuit settlements elsewhere often took years.

“From looking at other regions that have experienced these disasters, I learned that it took many years to come to terms and that it left people in a tangled web of despair because they couldn’t truly recover,” Green said.

Victims would receive insurance, but it was never enough, the governor said.

“I recognize that the $3 billion from insurance is very helpful,” Green said. “But we hope the additional $4 billion in settlements will make it possible for people to rebuild however they see fit.”