WAILUKU (HawaiiNewsNow) – The fight continues over the multi-billion-dollar Maui wildfire settlement.
The first checks are supposed to go out to survivors in the next few weeks, but there appears to be some holdups.
Judge Peter Cahill made it clear back in October that he wants checks distributed to survivors before the end of the year.
However, at a court hearing on Friday, there was no mention of a timeline.
Instead, attorneys argued over who deserves the money.
“The insurance companies have continued to fight the individual plaintiffs every step of the way,” said Cynthia Wong, a Maui attorney for individual plaintiffs. “And there’s only one reason for that, and that’s their greed.”
More than 21,000 people have filed claims using personal attorneys.
There are 10 categories of losses, including real property, personal property, additional living expense, business loss, wage loss, displacement, zone of danger, physical injury, wrongful death, and other.
Attorneys for the individual plaintiffs say survivors deserve all the settlement money.
“The longer they continue to fight, the longer we hold things up, the more problematic it is for the victims,” Wong said.
Attorneys for insurance companies said their clients have paid billions of dollars in claims, and they believe they have rights to the settlement as well.
“The process should be efficient and as fair as possible, rather than creating hurdles and booby traps for us to fall under,” said Vince Raboteau, an attorney for an insurance company.
“Perhaps maybe there was one person in the household claims something and it should have been properly on the other,” said Nathan Yoshimoto, another attorney for another insurance company.
“See that’s where I think you’re wrong,” Cahill told Yoshimoto. “Because that other person has a right to make their claim separate, and you don’t have a right to inquire into it.”
“I would suggest, your honor, that that question be reserved for the facts and circumstances as they are presented at the time,” Yoshimoto responded.
“It will be. But I’m just suggesting that if you’re going down that path, I see the cliff you’re about to fall off,” said Cahill.
Judge Cahill said he expects to see thousands of appeals.
The next hearing is scheduled for December 17th.
No date has been given yet for the first payments.
Copyright 2025 Hawaii News Now. All rights reserved.
Clinton Mora is a reporter for Trending Insurance News. He has previously worked for the Forbes. As a contributor to Trending Insurance News, Clinton covers emerging a wide range of property and casualty insurance related stories.