A last-minute agreement has been reached to avoid a trial over the distribution of the $4 billion settlement for victims of the 2023 Lahaina wildfire in Hawaii, one of America’s deadliest fires in a century.
The deal, announced Wednesday by Judge Peter Cahill, spares survivors and victims’ families from having to testify about their traumatic experiences.
The settlement, announced by Hawaii Gov. Josh Green, involves multiple parties including the state, Hawaiian Electric and major landowners. The agreement was designed to prevent lengthy litigation following the devastating fire that claimed 102 lives and caused approximately $5.5 billion in damage.
The trial was meant to determine how to split compensation between two groups: individual plaintiffs who lost family members, homes or businesses; and class-action plaintiffs, including tourists whose travel plans were affected. Attorney Jacob Lowenthal argued that tourism-related losses were “grossly insignificant” compared to the devastating personal losses of direct victims.
Among the individual plaintiffs is Kevin Baclig, who lost four family members in the fire. In his declaration, Baclig described spending three desperate days searching for his loved ones, eventually having to travel to the Philippines to collect DNA samples for identification of remains.
A separate but related case before the state Supreme Court, scheduled for Feb. 6, will determine whether insurers can pursue reimbursement for more than $2 billion in paid claims from the defendants, or if they must draw from the existing settlement.
Read more: Hawaii wildfire victims spared from testifying after last-minute deal over $4B settlement
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