Hawaii
State high court probes conditions of Maui wildfires settlement – West Hawaii Today
Hawaii Supreme Court justices posed many exacting, and sometimes skeptical, questions Thursday to attorneys in a case pertaining to the validity of a $4 billion deal to settle Maui wildfire litigation.
Justices challenged four lawyers over their respective arguments on whether conditions of the proposed settlement affecting insurance company rights comply with Hawaii law.
It may be weeks before the court’s five justices render a decision.
After the almost two-hour hearing, representatives of opposing sides in the case expressed optimism for prevailing.
“We are right on the law, so I think the justices will see that,” said Jesse Creed, liaison counsel for numerous attorneys representing more than 17,000 victims of the Aug. 8, 2023, fires that killed 102 people and destroyed most of Lahaina as well as property in Upcountry Maui.
Mark Grotefeld, liaison counsel for close to 200 insurance companies that have paid about $2.3 billion in claims so far to fire victims and expect to pay over $1 billion more, had a similar view. “We know the law is correctly as we have stated it, so we feel very good about our chances here,” he said.
A decision by the court could determine whether the proposed settlement, which excludes insurers, can prevent the insurers from obtaining compensation, through litigation, from parties deemed responsible for the fire in an effort to at least partially cover payouts to policyholders. Without this prevention, the existing settlement arrangement falls apart.
The court’s decision is also expected to establish a precedent that could apply to future cases pertaining to insurance recoveries and how property and casualty insurance companies operate in Hawaii.
The parties that have agreed to pay $4 billion to Maui fire victims are Hawaiian Electric, the state, Kamehameha Schools, Spectrum Oceanic LLC and Hawaiian Telcom.
Maui Circuit Judge Peter Cahill approved terms of the deal in August and barred insurers from pursuing compensation, through separate litigation, directly from settlement payers.
Under Cahill’s ruling, the only way insurers can recover insurance claim payments is to seek court approval to obtain refunds from policyholders for any amount of compensation that exceeds the value of what they lost.
Cahill later agreed to have Hawaii’s high court decide three questions in an effort to determine whether his ruling complies with Hawaii law.
Most of Thursday’s hearing was spent discussing Hawaii case law, legal principles and notions of equity. Justices posed more than 75 questions to the four attorneys presenting arguments on two sides of the issue.
Creed told the Supreme Court justices that insurers sought reimbursement outside of what’s permitted by state law at the expense of fire victims who lost family, friends, homes, businesses and public facilities.
“They lost the core and the fabric of their community, and they need every penny to restitch the fabric and bring the community back together,” he said. “Every penny (insurers) take outside of the rules … is one less penny that goes back to rebuilding Lahaina.”
Attorney Ginger Anders presented arguments along similar lines for all the settlement payers.
“The settlement is structured to give insurers everything to which they are entitled to under existing Hawaii law,” she said.
Adam Romney, an attorney who presented arguments for the insurers, said this group wanted to be part of a settlement but wasn’t meaningfully included in dealings with independent mediators who suggested the parties agree to $4 billion as a maximum fair and practicable sum for the settlement payers based on facts and circumstances of the disaster.
“We’re not trying to block the settlement,” he said. “We would like there to be a settlement that helps everybody and resolves all claims.”
Romney said the insurers refused to agree to the $4 billion deal because they were not told how much each entity would pay. After the deal was announced, it was revealed that Hawaiian Electric’s share was $1.99 billion, which Romney emphasized is less than what insurers have paid in claims.
Terrence Revere, an attorney representing fire victims through class-action litigation also connected to the settlement deal, said the $4 billion figure is inadequate but was a way to resolve more than 600 lawsuits.
“Nobody was happy with it, but everybody but the insurers felt we have to move on,” he told the court.
Under current terms of the tentative settlement, the issue with the insurers must be resolved by May 19 for the deal to become effective.
Chief Justice Mark Recktenwald said a decision would be forthcoming.
“Mahalo to all our attorneys for your arguments here today,” he said from the bench. “The court will take this matter under advisement. We recognize the urgency of this matter and will issue a decision as soon as possible.”
HONOLULU (HawaiiNewsNow) – A family-run Chinese restaurant in Honolulu’s Chinatown is gearing up for Lunar New Year festivities.
Hawaii Dim Sum & Seafood Restaurant owner Karen Tam and her son Kirave Liang joined HNN’s Sunrise to showcase their dim sum and Chinese specialties.
Lunar New Year specials include a special jai with 18 vegetarian ingredients and the sweet, sticky, steamed rice cake gau in brown sugar and coconut flavors, which symbolize good fortune and prosperity.
”We eat food with a lucky meaning to start the great year,” Tam said. “We have jin dui (sesame balls) every day.“
Feb. 17 marks the start of the year of the Fire Horse, when families gather to celebrate with big meals and auspicious dishes. Hawaii Dim Sum & Seafood will offer set party menus and special orders for foods not commonly found in Honolulu, such as whole stuffed duck, braised abalone in oyster sauce, and basin meal.
“It’s the biggest fest of the year. We celebrate Chinese New Year by eating with family in a round table,“ Tam said.
Hawaii Dim Sum & Seafood also has private rooms with karaoke systems and a banquet hall to accommodate small family gatherings to large parties.
Hawaii Dim Sum & Seafood is located on 111 N. King St. and is open from 8 a.m. to 9 p.m. daily, There is street parking and paid parking behind the restaurant on Nimitz and Maunakea.
For more information, visit hawaiidimsumseafood.com or follow on Instagram @hawaiidimsumseafood.
Copyright 2026 Hawaii News Now. All rights reserved.
The Sony Open in Hawaii has the honors of being the kickoff event to the 2026 PGA Tour season after the cancellation of The Sentry at Kapalua this season.
Instead of Maui, the Tour debuts in Honolulu on the island of Oahu, Jan. 15-18, at the Seth Raynor-designed Waialae Country Club, where Nick Taylor prevailed in a playoff over Nico Echavarria last year.
Among the changes this season is the field size, which was reduced from 144 to 120, and, there is no longer is a Monday qualifier offering four spots. Will that help with pace of play? Stay tuned.
The field includes the following notables in addition to Taylor and Echavarria: Daniel Berger, Keegan Bradley, Michael Brennan, Corey Conners, Tony Finau, Chris Gotterup, Brian Harman, Russell Henley, Billy Horschel, Robert MacIntyre, Collin Morikawa, Adam Scott, Jordan Spieth, Sahith Theegala, Gary Woodland and 62-year-old Vijay Singh.
Here’s the full field for the Sony Open, which will be live on Golf Channel all four days as well as NBC with early-round coverage on Saturday and Sunday.
This year’s Sony purse is $9.1 million and the winner also will receive 500 FedEx Cup points.
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