Wildfire-Related Lawsuits in Maui
Maui residents who suffered property loss due to recent wind-driven wildfires are still assessing the scope of their losses, and troubling questions and anger have emerged about Hawaii’s largest power utility’s role in the disaster. In one lawsuit filed on Thursday, the county of Maui sued Hawaiian Electric Company over its failure to shut off power in Lahaina during a powerful hurricane-driven wind event that sparked a series of deadly fires.
The complaint claims the defendants “inexcusably kept their power lines energized in early August, despite knowing that the National Weather Service had issued a High Wind Warning and a Fire Warning for West Maui ahead of Hurricane Dora.” It says keeping the power lines energized allowed the fire to rapidly grow and eventually destroy much of Lahaina. The suit seeks unspecified civil damages to recover the county’s costs of protecting public resources in the towns of Lahaina and Kula from fire-related damage.
A second class action Maui fire lawyers also hit the dockets Saturday and claims the Maui Electric Company did not take any preventative measures or immediate actions to mitigate the damage from the fires, which burned thousands of acres across the island. The plaintiffs—representated by Honolulu based firm LippSmith LLP and California firms Robertson & Associates, Law Office of Richard E Wilson LLC, and Foley Behle & Curtis LLP—agree that if the utility had taken preventative measures it would have prevented the massive wildfire that wiped out the historic town of Lahaina.
Are There Deadlines For Filing Wildfire-Related Lawsuits in Maui?
Both suits accuse the defendants of failing to properly maintain, repair, inspect and trim vegetation on or near their transmission lines in West Maui, including in and around the ignition points of the fires that killed at least 115 people and left more than 1,000 missing during the Aug. 8 disaster, which was the deadliest in the country in more than a century. The suits also claim the utilities knew the area was prone to fire risk because of its arid climate and overrun by flammable non-native vegetation, including invasive grasses.
It also accuses the defendants of failing to properly train their employees to deal with the risks of high winds and the potential for lightning-induced fires. It also claims that as the fires grew, the companies moved poles, power lines, transformers, conductors and other equipment from near a Lahaina substation beginning around August 12—before federal agents from the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives arrived on scene. The moves, according to the lawsuits, deprived investigators of vital evidence in the case.
The suits also allege that the utilities failed to notify customers about their wildfire-related risk. It also alleges that the utilities breached its contract with the state to provide reliable and affordable electric service.Business owners facing significant wildfire losses may be entitled to significant financial protection from their commercial insurance policies. Experienced policyholder coverage counsel can help evaluate a business’s policies and assist with the drafting of an effective disaster mitigation plan to improve its chances of a successful insurance recovery.