What Maui fire victims need to know to file for settlement money
HONOLULU (HawaiiNewsNow) - A major step in compensating Maui fire victims for their losses is happening now for thousands of fire survivors.
Special Section: Maui Wildfires Disaster
Survivors have received the first official instructions on how to claim part of the $4 billion settlement.
A 19-page letter began arriving last week with deadlines and instructions on how to file for part of the settlement. It also plainly lays out the math about how much people might get.
Some say it’s not what they expected.
“I’ve been thinking this and talking about this since the beginning, that the settlement is too low,” said Lahaina fire survivor Sanford Hill.
Hill is a writer who lost his home, several friends, and his Corvette at the Hale Mahaolu senior housing. He hired lawyers who he said promised a lot, so he was shocked when the settlement letter he got last week speculated that as little as 30-40 percent of each claim would be paid.
“It’s really depressing. It makes me angry,” Hill said.
Hill said he hasn’t been able to reach his lawyer for clarification.
“So in a compromised situation, which is always what a settlement is, you are not going to get full value,” Maui attorney Cynthia Wong explained.
Wong says she’s been scrambling to keep her clients informed and urging them to join the settlement, even though they might not know how much they’ll get in the end.
“People are happy that we are moving forward finally with the individual settlement plan that we have, the ability to get the settlement release agreement signed, and that we have a firm deadline in October to have the submission of all claims,” she said.
Hill feels trapped by the process, which doesn’t give him much choice because he can’t afford to sue on his own.
“They pushed us into a corner, and we’re going to have to accept whatever we get, and this document just told me that,” he said. “That’s not going to be a lot for a lot of people.”
“So that’s a positive thing that everybody is counting on money in the hands, sooner rather than later,” said California wildfire attorney Frank Pitre, who is teamed with Wong, representing more than a thousand victims.
The letter said the first installment of payments could go out in December.
Pitre represented victims in California fires. He points out that the defendants in Hawaii, the Hawaiian Electric Company, Kamehameha Schools, the state, and other landowners, can afford to pay the $4 billion to victims without risk of bankruptcy or costs of a lengthy trial.
“After you explain how the process works and you give people comfort, that this was the best out of a very bad situation,” Pitre said.
Maui Circuit Court Judge Peter Cahill approved a process that will have experienced experts decide how much each claim is worth, then divide the settlement money among the thousands of victims. The more claims there are, the less there will be for each.
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Lawyers argue the system is fair.
“It is a process that will be applied uniformly and fairly by experienced people,” Wong said.
Despite no way to predict how much they will receive, claimants must pull together all evidence of their losses, including pain and suffering, and file by Oct. 1.
“We have a short time span to do all this stuff, and for people like me, you know the kupuna, this is really difficult, especially since so much of this stuff was burned in the fire,” Hill said.
“We want people to be comfortable with the settlement to sign the settlement agreement timely and to submit their claim timely, and any questions, they should reach out to their lawyer,” Wong said.
While about 20,000 people have contacted attorneys, there will also be a smaller class action lawsuit. It’s possible, but challenging, to file without an attorney.
Watch our full interview with attorneys Cynthia Wong and Frank Pitre as they explain the Maui wildfire settlement claims process:
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