Hawaiian Electric, others reach $4B settlement with Maui wildfire plaintiffs (NYSE:HE)

Hawaiian Electric Industries (NYSE:HE) and six other defendants reached a $4 billion settlement that will resolve lawsuits from hundreds of victims of the Maui wildfires last year.

Under the proposed global settlement, which remains subject to final documentation and court approval, the seven defendants will pay $4.037 billion to provide compensation to all for claims related to the wildfires from almost a year ago, according to a statement from Hawaii Governor Josh Green on Friday.

Hawaiian Electric (HE) will pay about $2 billion of the settlement, the utility said in a separate statement on Friday.

The proposed settlement is an agreement in principle. The agreement is conditional on the resolution of the insurance companies’ claims that have already been paid for property loss and other damages, with no additional payments from the defendants. The plaintiffs will have 90 days to come to an agreement with the insurers on the division of proceeds or have a judge decide that the insurersʻ exclusive remedy is to seek to recover from the settlement payments made to each of the plaintiffs, among other terms.

“This was an extraordinary and unprecedented effort by many people to address the tragic impacts of the wildfires in less than a year,” Governor Green said in the statement. “Resolving this so quickly shows how Hawai‘i is different, how we come together in times of crisis to heal together as a community.”

The payments are expected to begin by mid-2025 if the settlement is approved.

The settlement comes after Bloomberg reported on July 18 that the parties were close to a tentative settlement, sending Hawaiian Electric (HE) shares soaring 37% that day. The total $4B amount would come in below the ~$5.5B estimated capital cost caused by the fires in a damage assessment released last year.

HEI will further discuss the settlement in its quarterly earnings call scheduled next Friday.