HONOLULU (KHON2) -- A massive settlement resolving all claims and lawsuits over the Maui wildfires could be on the table as soon as next week. A Maui County Council committee late Tuesday advanced a measure to the full council, to approve a global settlement.
No dollar figures are yet revealed as the clock ticks down on a deal that must be finalized in just days. And even then, wildfire plaintiffs could decide to walk away.
A Maui County Council committee held a hearing today to take up the county's portion of a deal being worked out with mediators in hundreds of Maui wildfire lawsuits.
"A global settlement is something that would encompass all of the claims, cross claims, counterclaims that have been filed, both against the county, against the co-defendants," explained Victoria Takayesu, Maui County's corporation counsel, "and then all the plaintiffs would agree to, and all of the subrogation or the insurance companies would agree to....as well as any future claims yet to be filed, up to the date of the expiration of the statute of limitations, which would be Aug. 8, 2025."
As of today it's now 451 lawsuits representing 1,800 individuals and 425 entities. Maui County is the defendant in many, and even the plaintiff in some. Other defendants include Hawaiian Electric, the State of Hawaii, and other private landowners and utilities.
"Those complaints include, of course, wrongful death, property damage, inverse condemnation, negligence, just as example of the number of kinds of causes of actions that we're facing," Takayesu said. "We've been placed on a very aggressive trial schedule by our state court judge. our first trials are already set for November."
Trials will start unless settlement comes first. The dollar figures are not being revealed, but plaintiff attorneys involved in wildfire litigation tell me that's standard.
"All I can say is that mediation has been going on for some period of time," said Aaron Creps, at attorney with Leavitt, Yamane & Soldner, which represents plaintiffs in several wildfire lawsuits. "That's all very confidential, and it's intended to allow the parties to be open with each other and have candid conversations about the case."
Both the state Attorney General's office and Hawaiian Electric acknowledged ongoing mediation but declined to comment.
The clock is ticking for a settlement deal.
"They just extended it to July 15, so they gave us one extra working day," Takayesu told the council committee. "So even though, having said that, iIwould still like to have some tentative recommendations from this council before we can get back to the mediator on whether or not we would accept the proposal."
The offer of a settlement doesn't make it final.
"In any case, the client always needs to consent to a settlement of their claims, and so that would have to be a part of any settlement proposal is client signing off and saying, okay, I agree to give up my claims in exchange for what's being offered," Creps said.
Councilmembers went into executive session to hear the private details of the settlement. During the public open session, the mechanics of the deal were discussed and one public testifier spoke, saying too little is known about liabilities to be waiving claims now.
"The administration had a recent oral briefing from the (Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives), while the public has been kept in the dark, even though 102 Maui residents are now dead," said testifier Henry Curtis from Life of the Land. "We think the resolution should be held until this council can review publicly the briefing filed by ATF."
Always Investigating has been pushing the federal ATF and the Maui Fire Department for their cause and origin reports. And ATF spokesperson said they gave the county their findings and it's up to the county to release them alongside the county's findings. An MFD spokesperson tells me they're waiting on a written report from ATF before the county can finish their investigation and report.