Hawaii Supreme Court agrees to weigh in on issues holding up $4B wildfire settlement

Associated Press

HONOLULU (AP) — Hawaii’s Supreme Court will consider questions about issues that threaten to thwart a $4 billion settlement in last year’s devastating Maui wildfires. A Maui judge last month agreed to ask the state high court questions about how insurance companies can go about recouping money paid to policyholders. The Supreme Court issued an order Wednesday accepting the questions and asking attorneys on all sides to submit briefs within 40 days. Insurance companies that have paid out more than $2 billion in claims want to bring independent legal action against the defendants blamed for causing the deadly tragedy. Preventing insurers from going after the defendants is a key settlement term.