$4.037 Billion Settlement for Maui Wildfire Victims

On August 8, 2023, a wind-driven fire tore through Lahaina on the western coast of Maui, killing 101 people and incinerating thousands of homes and businesses across the historic town center. The disaster displaced roughly 12,000 residents and became one of the deadliest wildfires in modern American history.

Investigators traced the ignition to a deteriorating utility pole that snapped under high winds. Aaron Creps of Leavitt, Yamane and Soldner, who represented families of those killed and survivors who lost their homes, described the core liability theory: the pole had been weakened by termite damage, and Hawaiian Electric reconnected power to the lines without first confirming the area was safe, which ignited the blaze.

Within weeks of the disaster, Leavitt, Yamane and Soldner partnered with the Frantz Law Group to file claims on behalf of Maui victims. The litigation grew to encompass roughly 450 lawsuits in state and federal courts, naming seven defendants: Hawaiian Electric, the State of Hawaii, Maui County, Kamehameha Schools, West Maui Land Co., Hawaiian Telcom, and Spectrum/Charter Communications.

As cases were scheduled for trial beginning November 2024, Creps argued before Judge Peter Cahill that consolidating the first four filed cases into a single proceeding was the most practical path forward, noting that trying them one household at a time would impose an undue burden on court staff and the jury pool. Mediation ran in parallel, with sessions lasting more than four months.

In August 2024, the parties reached a $4.037 billion global settlement, the largest in Hawaii history. Hawaiian Electric agreed to contribute $1.99 billion, the single largest share. The settlement still required resolution of a subrogation dispute: property and casualty insurers who had paid approximately $2.4 billion in claims sought the right to recover those costs directly from the defendants. Creps argued that Maui victims had not yet been made whole, which under Hawaii law would bar insurer subrogation. The Hawaii Supreme Court accepted briefing on that question in late 2024, with the case set to return to the Maui Circuit Court after the court's ruling.